


Wishing for a better life

by Fluffandsmutt, Shrugging_Girl



Category: Original Work
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Cosplay, F/F, Fairies, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Genie - Freeform, God of War (2018), God of War (2018) Spoilers, Love Story, M/M, Magic-Users, Makeovers, Mermaids, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Nudism, Original Story - Freeform, Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Abuse, Pirates, Screw capitalism, Trans Female Character, Trans Girl, Trans Lesbian, Transgender, Useless Lesbians, Vikings, Werewolf Culture, Werewolves, Witchcraft, Witches, magical girl, transformations, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 74,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22819849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffandsmutt/pseuds/Fluffandsmutt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shrugging_Girl/pseuds/Shrugging_Girl
Summary: A very unhappy transgender girl discovers a magic lamp and finds love when she befriends the genie inside. Hijinks ensue.
Comments: 60
Kudos: 87





	1. A Friend Like Her

Another day, another misery… Ella made her way down the street, hands in her pockets with body and face hidden by a baggy red hoodie. She was walking with no real destination. Just anywhere was better than home right now. Home where no one called her a girl. Home where the name she had tried to throw off was shouted at her from across the room... Only her brother respected her as she was, and he had moved out some time ago...  


She noticed an odd estate sale in front of an ancient house and decided to give it a look. It was something to do to take her mind off of things at least. Most of the items were just junk, plain and simple. Upended drawers of lightly rusted kitchen gadgets, a ratty old chair that had probably been left out on the front porch, and… were those old paint cans? Who tries to sell old paint cans?  


Her attention was caught by a little table lamp tucked away in a back corner. It was old, and there was no light bulb or shade, but the body of it was clear glass, filled with shards of sea glass in different shades of frosty whites, greens and blues. Just looking at all the pieces made Ella think about all the hours walking along the beach it must have taken to collect them. Hours spent in peace, walking the water’s edge… She couldn’t help but smile thinking about that. Ella gently picked up the lamp and walked over to the woman at the cash box. “How much for this?”  


The woman looked up from her phone with an air that said she’d rather be doing anything else “5 bucks kid.”  


Ella quickly handed over the money and left with just a brief thank you. She would take being called “kid”. At least it was better than ‘young man’ like teachers still tried to call her. Not wanting to go home quiet yet, she took the lamp and made her way to the park, knowing from many hours brooding and working in her sketchbook, that it was empty this time of day.  


She took a seat on the nearest bench and looked closer at her new purchase. She was trying to decide where it would be best to put it in her room when she realized the lamp had no plug. “What the?” she said to herself. She held it closer to see if maybe the cord had been tucked away in a secret compartment, moving it gently, but still making the glass jingle a little.  


“Well, this was probably $5 down the drain… still it’d look nice in my room even if it doesn’t work…” it was then that she noticed a faint mark on the clear glass under a faint layer of dust. Thinking that the whole thing might be factory made, robbing it of all the charm she had wanted it for, she polished the spot with her sleeve and hoped it wasn’t what she feared. In that moment a light began emanating from the top, as if a nonexistent bulb was glowing.  


Frightened, Ella put the lamp down on the bench and took several steps back. A faint sound of laughter seemed to be coming from the light. A sound that was slowly growing as the light grew brighter. In a moment, there was a blinding flash, bright enough it forced Ella to close her eyes. When she opened them again… “No way…”  


Sitting on the bench next to the lamp was a beautiful girl. 6 foot tall, toned muscles, lightly tanned skin, bright green eyes and blood red hair tied back in a long ponytail. Her clothes were those of a stereotypical maid, down to the little white lace hat. The girl was laughing and smiling and stretching, “Oh does it feel good to be out in the sunlight again!” Only then did she look about and realize they were outside and see Ella. “Well now, aren’t you a cutie. Tell me, did you buy my lamp off the old man or steal it?”  


Ella fell back onto her butt “You… you are… that’s impossible…”  


“Impossible things happen every day my dear. But yes, I know what you are thinking, I am in fact a genie. And since you own the lamp and summoned me, I bet you know what happens next!... But first, do you mind if I change clothes? My last master made me wear this all the time, the old pervert…”  


“I… yeah… sure…” Ella’s head was still reeling, but… well she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It seemed through the dumbest luck in the universe she had gotten a genie! And what’s more she was so stinking cute! “So… your old master. I’m guessing he’s the guy that owned the house back there?”  


The genie snapped her fingers and she was in a set of long sweat pants covered in stars and a plain pink t shirt “Yeah that was him. Dead I’m assuming. The old coot used his three wishes all in one week and then held onto my lamp in his basement for over 20 years. I think he was afraid someone else would use the lamp to undo his wishes. I’m assuming you’ve seen Aladdin right? You know how this works?”  


“Yeah I… wait, is that really how genie’s work?”  


“Basically,” she gave a little shrug, “Someone on the staff at Disney got ahold of my lamp during that whole ‘renaissance’ thing. Gotta say, it was some of my better work, though of course they had to ruin it.”  


“Huh…” Ella took a moment to digest that “So, 3 wishes, can’t wish for more wishes, love, or death. That right?”  


“Bingo! Now what’s a cute little lady like you want in life?” The genie asked as she changed her shirt to a light blue before being satisfied with the look.  


“Well I… I’m sorry, could you say that again?” Ella had to do a double take. She couldn’t have heard that right.  


“Say what? What do you want in life?”  


“No… I mean… No one ever knows I’m a girl when they look at me…” she looked down, the depressing memories coming to her again.  


The genie got up from the bench and walked over to her new mistress, raising Ella’s head to look at her with a gentle touch. “Of course you are a girl. I can see into your very soul my dear… You’ve had a very hard time of it haven’t you…”  


Ella nodded sadly “My family… They say all the stupid stuff you expect. Calling this a phase, accusing me of turning their lives upside down… I don’t suppose… Could I wish that I always was a girl?”  


“You could… but I wouldn’t. You always have been a girl, no matter what some doctor said when you were born. That would be a waste of a wish if you ask me.”  


Ella blushed a little and smiled. This girl was being nicer to her and showing her more respect than anyone had in a long time. “Well… thank you for being so honest… I’m sorry but you haven’t said your name. What do you want me to call you?”  


The Genie paused, surprised by the question “Oh! Well… You see I… Well most of my masters only ever call me Genie… I haven’t really been on a first name basis with anyone in… over a thousand years…. I…” a tear rolled down her cheek and her face quickly fell “I can’t… remember my name…”  


Ella wasn’t sure why she did it, but she hugged the genie, holding her gently to her body. The red head gasped. It had been over 20 years since she had last felt human touch. She wrapped her arms around the girl and just held her to her body, taking such comfort in the physical contact.  


“… Jana. Call me Jana” the genie said after a pause, feeling ready to continue again.  


“Alright then Jana. Call me Ella” Ella said with a smile, finally letting go of her odd new magical friend. “Can I ask you something? The whole, ‘free the genie’ thing, is that real too?”  


Jana nodded and sighed “Very true. All genies want freedom, but there are two ways that we can get it. Either wish for freedom, or the master… well… gets tricked into switching places. That’s what happened to me… Some genies get so jaded after doing this for so long that they love twisting wishes. I wished for magic powers and boy was I given them… Still no use crying over spilt milk.” She grumbled to herself “I wonder what that jerk ended up doing with his freedom… I hope it was worth it.”  


Ella wasn’t sure what to think of that “You’ve been doing this for over a thousand years?”  


“And counting most likely…”  


“Hey now! You never know, I’m not a person that wants very much from life. Two wishes will be more than enough for me.”  


Jana looked up at her and was quiet for a moment “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep Ella dear. I like you. It’d be nice to have a friend for a while if nothing else.”  


“Alright then… How about this then? I’ll take my time making the wishes. You can have all of the time out in the world you could want until we figure out what I want. Is that a good place to start?”  


Jana nodded, a smile coming back to her face. “It will be nice to live like a human again for a while. Just please keep my lamp somewhere safe. It would kind of ruin my vacation if I got a new master the first day.”  


“Alright… Now you’ll need a place to stay… I think that means I finally need to go home… this isn’t going to be fun…”


	2. Getting to know you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella shows Jana her home life, and the bigot baiting begins as we meet her parents.

Jana was walking alongside her new friend and master, curious how life was going to be for her. “So… life at home, I’m just going to go out on a limb and say you’re parents aren’t the nicest people.”  


“That’s putting it mildly… It’s like my dad is a soulless robot and my mother is a soul sucking demon.”  


“So… Your dad had a soul before he met your mother?”  


“What are you…. Oh…” Ella couldn’t help but laugh a little at that “I guess I walked into that one a little bit didn’t I… But yeah. Mom hates my… choice of lifestyle,” She said, putting the phrase in air quotes, “and dad doesn’t have any of his own opinions. He just goes along with whatever she says. So… When I’m in their house, I can’t dress how I want, they won’t call me by my name… And if I correct them, I’m punished. I wish…” she paused for a moment “This isn’t an actual wish, just a comment. But I’m sorry that I don’t have a better place for you to stay…”  


Jana smiled gently “Don’t worry about your exact phrasing. I know what you mean… But maybe I could do something to help you with them… with or without my magic.”  


Ella looked at her new friend curiously. “What do you mean?”  


“Well… everyone tries their best to be civil and well behaved when company is in the house right? Maybe if I come to stay as a foreign exchange student, and you stand your ground on issues when I am there backing you up… maybe they might back down a little.”  


Ella was quiet for a moment. “Well… it’s an idea… they never hold back around family, but they might not want to explode around a stranger… but again they might just not care what you think, not the way that they care what the neighbors say about them…”  


Jana smiled and shrugged a little “Oh, they might care since I come with this.” She waved her hand and a check materialized in her hand. “My family back in Dublin is willing to pay my host family well every week I stay with them. A little greed might make your mother eat crow for at least a week or two.”  


Ella nodded. “Simple, but that actually could work…. so you’re from Ireland?”  


The genie shrugged and seesawed her hand “More or less. Not Ireland in the way you are thinking. Dublin used to be an outpost for Norse raiders and I lived among them.”  


“You were a Viking!?! That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of!” Ella couldn’t help but fangirl a little.  


Jana chuckled, “Well I wasn’t exactly one of raiders myself. I was what you’d call a shield maiden.”  


She nodded in understanding “So you were still a warrior, but it was your job to defend the city while the men were out pillaging and the like.”  


“Exactly… well almost exactly. There were women raiders too… I had a wife who was a fierce warrior! She…” Jana trailed off. She stopped walking and her face fell “Freya… her name was Freya… I can’t believe it’s been so long since I thought of her…”  


Ella put a comforting hand on the genie’s shoulder “Named after the goddess of love right? I’m sure she was beautiful. I have to admit I’m a little surprised that you were allowed a wife back then.”  


Jana smirked and chuckled “A lot of people would be surprised how openly and proudly gay some cultures could be back then. My people respected strength, and Freya fought for my hand and won. She had earned the right to marry me and no one would contest it.”  


“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” Ella said, hoping she would find a love of her own one day.  


Jana nodded, looking up at the sky for a moment, “And gods willing I’ll see her again… Eventually. I’ve made her wait a very long time.”  


Ella paused for a moment, both to give her friend a moment to herself and because her home was within sight. “Looks like mom’s car is gone. They must have gone to the store. Looks like I can show you around before they get back and start judging me.” She gestured for Jana to follow her as she unlocked the front door to a large house with a large, well kept, but very sterile front yard. Both the house and the lawn seemed to be going out of it’s way to be as normal and inoffensive as possible.  


“Your mom cares a lot what the neighbors think?” Jana asked as she was led inside. The house too felt very cold devoid of personality.  


“Yep. I doubt you needed magic to pick up on that. Everything and anything someone might see has to be perfect.”  


“Really…” she looked around the sparsely decorated walls and a spotless professional grade kitchen “I’d offer to insult her housekeeping but I doubt she cleans all this herself.”  


“Yeah, please don’t do that. The cleaning is done by me when I’m in trouble. So, yeah, it’s always me.” She shrugged and led Janna to a small bedroom, “Here is the guest room so you’d be staying in here.” Like the rest of the house it was bland, cold and impersonal.  


“Works for me just fine. Any bed is more comfortable than sleeping in the lamp.” She looked around the room, and browsed a bookcase full of black leather bound volumes. “Gods your parents don’t believe in decoration or bright colors do they? Please tell me your room isn’t this boring.”  


Ella smiled with pride “Why do you think I’m always in trouble? Follow me.” She led her genie friend out into the hall and to a door leading to a basement stairway. The space was dark, and a little musky smelling, but when the light was turned on, the space oozed color and personality.  


The cinder block walls had a base coat of white paint, but on every inch of wall there were plants and birds painted in vibrant colors. Trees and a bright sun were central to one half of the room that faded to twilight and night around the bed, circling back to the colors of dawn. The same effect was on the ceiling that showed half star studded night and half brightest blue.  


“By the gods…” Having taken in the art of the walls themselves, Jana began to notice the finer details of the room. It wasn’t a very clean space, but it felt nicely lived in after the cold perfection of the rest of the house. A throw rug covered most of the floor and had several stains of paint, there was a shelf of a few much more whimsical novels than the ones upstairs, as well as several cracked, worn, and well loved leather bound sketch books. There was a small desk and an artist’s easel, that seemed very damaged and had probably been garbage picked, with an old laptop sitting on the desk. “You… You did all this yourself?” It takes a lot to surprise a centuries old genie, but this work did genuinely impress her, especially when she discovered a small stack of canvas paintings stowed behind the desk.  


“Yep…” Ella smiled and looked around the room “Took me weeks to get this right… I’ll be sad to see it go.”  


Jana looked up from examining a very detailed painting of a demon girl wreathed in fire. “Why would you see it go? Planning to move out soon?”  


“No such luck I’m afraid… I mentioned that my room got me in trouble? You can see the white paint under all this right?”  


Jana paused for a moment, looking around again “No… Your mother doesn’t….”  


“Yep.” Ella said simply with a sigh. “Every couple weeks she gets sick of my murals and hires someone to paint over all of it. She says to stop wasting my time with my stupid paints and to grow up… What you are seeing is…” She paused for a moment to try and remember, “I think, attempt 12 or 13 to tell her to go pack sand, but she owns the house so I can’t do much else but start painting again.”  


“But… But this is all amazing! What kind of person could destroy something like this?” Jana gestured around the room, seeming genuinely outraged.  


Ella was about to answer when they heard a woman’s voice calling a boy’s name repeatedly from upstairs. Ella sighed again and clenched her fists as if preparing for something painful “Would you like to see for yourself?”  


The girls made their way upstairs and both parents were unloading grocery bags. Both husband and wife wore suites, but even at a glance it seemed that the woman’s was the nicer of the two. Ella would normally not even acknowledge that her parents were there if she could help it, and even then she’d call them Jerry and Karren, but today she felt it was better to at least start off trying to be civil. “Hi mom, dad. I have someone I want you to meet.”  


“Hey sport,” the tall spindly blond man said, trying to sound friendly. He spoke softly and had bags under his eyes, but Jana noticed that his overall nature seemed warmer and more genuine than his wife. His gaze fell on the red head “Who’s your friend?”  


Ella would accept ‘sport’ for a name. Sure it was generally male coded but it was better than her dead name. “This is Jana. She’s part of an exchange student program visiting from Ireland. I thought if you approved she might stay with us for a while.”  


It was only then that the mother looked over. Her hair was long and black in a braid. Her skin was smooth and perfect but pale and her eyes were a bright green. Not the warm soft green of Ella’s eyes, but bright and sharp like a feline predator. She looked at Jana critically, “Even though you’re out of school they still want you to participate in a stupid program like this?”  


Ella shrugged a little, “I volunteered to help. We have the spare room and we’re close to the campus after all.”  


“Besides,” Jana cut in “My parents wanted me to stay with another girl while I was over here. Ella seemed like a perfect choice.  


Karren glared at her daughter, then dialed the expression down from murderous to annoyed before addressing Jana, “I’m not sure what stupid lies my son has been telling you but-“  


“Oh Ella’s brother didn’t tell me anything.” Jana interrupted.  


Karen seemed very thrown off to have her flow interrupted, “What?”  


“Ella’s brother. You said your son had lied to me. I haven’t met him yet but he sounds like a great guy.”  


“Don’t try and be clever with me.” She was getting more annoyed by this odd house guest. “You know exactly what I mean.”  


Jana shrugged her shoulders “Well… it feels like you are implying that Ella is a boy, but that can’t be right. She wouldn’t have volunteered your guest room if she was a boy. And I couldn’t stay here if she was a boy… and I’d have to find someone else to give my stipend money to if I can’t stay here…”  


Karen seemed ready to interrupt again but paused “How… much money exactly?”  


“$1000 a week.” Jana said simply, actually taking out the check to show she was good for her word.  


“Huh… and how long would you be staying if you did stick around?” You could see her greed and her love of tormenting Ella fighting for dominance.  


“Two months, so that’s eight weeks, so that’s eight grand just for putting me up in that… adorable little guest room of yours.”  


Karen clenched her fist and forced a smile “Why don’t you stay for dinner tonight and we can discuss this further?”


	3. Meet the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Jana have the most awkward dinner ever with Ella’s parents and decided what to do next.
> 
> Content warning due to misgendering and abusive parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Shrugging_girl for helping me with the writing and editing of the story from this point onwards.

At least it was Dad’s night to cook. Karen never did anything interesting and she dictated what Ella would be making on her nights, but Jerry actually enjoyed himself in the kitchen. Ella often thought that Karen made them take turns cooking just so Jerry couldn’t do it every day.

They sat about the living room in a tense silence as they waited to be called to the table. “So…” Karen finally spoke. As much as she didn’t approve of Ella’s “lifestyle” and anyone supportive of it, she still was hosting someone with a lot of money to throw around. “Where did you say you were from miss… I don’t think you said your last name.”

“Murphy. Jana Murphy. But please just call me Jana Mrs. Grant.” She grabbed a handful of nuts from a small bowl on the living room table and munched them casually. Ella was left trying to hide her surprise Jana had learned her last name without asking. 

“I see. And you said you were from Ireland miss Murphy? What are you studying that you decided to come all the way out here?”

Jana smiled, not seeming to mind her request to use her first name had been ignored. “Yes Mrs. Grant. Born and raised just outside of Dublin. I’m a world history major looking to travel all over. Mostly England and America so far. I’m fascinated with countries and regions the Norse raiders had settled in. In fact I’m trying to do my final paper on their settlement of Vineland.”

“I…. see…” It was clear Karen didn’t approve of young girls in that sort of work and she was trying not to say it. Ella had dealt with that attitude for years; any job other than something that made good money was a waste of time. They’d only helped pay for Ella’s education because she had taken a business minor along with her arts degree.

“Ella told me that you and your husband work in finances?” Jana figured she might as well discuss something Karen actually liked to talk about.

“That’s right.” She said, still with a little ice in her voice hearing her child called her chosen name, “I'm in charge of investment portfolios for our clients and my husband works in guest relations.” That was the family line for Jerry. Guest relations sounded so much nicer and more impressive to visitors than just telling the truth that he was just a bank teller at the front counter. 

“That must be difficult work. I don’t think I could ever do something like that. But after all the world takes all sorts to work doesn’t it?” Jana’s warm smile had just enough insolence in it for Ella to be split between wanting to laugh, and worrying her mom would throw out her new friend. She did her best to change the subject. 

“I… I got a call from David the other day. He said he might be coming to visit before the week is over if he can get off work.”

“Oh your brother?” Jana asked, happy to take her attention off of Karen. “What did you say that he did again Ella?”

Karen cut in to regain control of the room, “He is the chief IT officer for a new start up company in Canada. Pay’s not the best for someone with his education, but he says that there is a big opportunity for growth and promotion… Unlike certain career paths…” She let that comment and her intention hang in the air and chill the entire room.

Luckily, Jerry called from the dining room that dinner was ready to break the tension for at least a moment. The table was set with pan seared tilapia topped with mango salsa, paired with steamed kale and cauliflower rice. It all smelled great and was bright and colorful… But Ella couldn’t really look forward to another dinner of hyper health foods and awkward conversations. There were nights she felt like she’d kill a man for half priced appetizers in a dive bar with a few friends. Still, at least tonight there was one friendly face.

They took their seats with Jana across the table from Karen. It was only then Ella remembered another danger already upon them. “Jana, you are the guest,” Karen said, “Would you like to lead us in grace?”

Jana thought about it for a moment “I… Yeah, it’s been years since I’ve tried to lead the prayer myself but I’ll give it a try if you will bear with me.” She bowed her head and closed her eyes and the three Grants joined her. Ella wondered if Jana would try to butter her parents up, saying the prayer in Latin like a good Catholic girl from Dublin. 

“ODIN! All father! Hear me!” Nope, apparently she was going a different angle. This outburst was enough to get them all to open their eyes, though Jana was just getting started. “Oh hanged god! Master of ravens! Seeker of Wisdom! Guide me as I journey through strange lands on my quest for knowledge of times long past! And please grant safety and peace of mind to those new friends I have yet to meet, and those old friends I left behind! Amen.” Finishing rather suddenly, Jana began helping herself to a large helping from the bowl of steamed kale that was closest to her.

“That… was a very spirited prayer…” Jerry said with an awkward laugh, that Karen cut short with a look.

“Well, normally when my father or grandmother lead the prayers we’d offer thanks and prayers to several of our gods, but I figured as a guest I should keep it brief.” Ella wasn’t sure if she should start laughing her head off or hide under the table as her mother might start breathing fire.

Dinner continued mostly in silence from that point on. Jana seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the meal, but the rest of them could feel the atmosphere, so thick and tense it could be cut with a knife. Jana tried to keep the conversation going with a small question or comment now and then, and where Jerry tried to be a little civil and gave concise answers, Karen barely made a sound. “So,” Jana said into the newest silence of the night, “Mister and Missus Grant, have you given any thought to allowing me to stay? I feel like I’m already such good friends with Ella and staying with her would make my visit in this country much more pleasant. And I’d help pay my way with more than just the money. I’m willing to cook and clean while I’m under your roof.”

Ella stayed silent as she watched her mother’s internal struggle. Seeing her indecision, Jerry made a rare independent decision. “It’s already too late to send you out looking for a hotel room on your own. You can stay the night and we can decide for sure in the morning.”

“Thank you Mr. Grant!” Jana smiled, injecting her thanks into the conversation before Karen could object. She also handed over the first check of payment for her stay. “Here, take this as collateral sir. If I decide not to stay I'll happily repay the dinner and the room before I leave.” She gave a rather exaggerated yawn and looked at the clock, “Getting rather late. Let me help clean up the dirty dishes and I think I’ll call it a night. Want to help Ella?”

The parents made no effort to stop the young adults from clearing the table and starting to work in the sink. They even left the room without further comment. It seemed they wouldn’t even say good night to their only daughter or company when they were annoyed. However Jana did catch Karen saying something to herself as she went down the hall to the master bedroom, “What’s the worst the pansy could do with a girl in the house anyway…”

Jana’s hands clenched into fists at the implications of that statement, hoping that her mistress hadn’t heard it. “Your mother is an interesting woman Ella. About as warm and inviting as a pit of cobras.”

“Oh that’s nothing. That was just her annoyed. You should see her when she’s actually mad.” Ella shuddered as she dried the plates Ella handed to her. “...Hey couldn’t you just magic these all clean?” 

“Oh sure I could, but there’s just something very human about doing things with your hands. I don’t technically need to eat either, but I love food so I’d never turn it down if it’s offered. Let me tell you from personal experience, conjuring food with magic just isn’t as satisfying as a home cooked meal. After decades of nothing but magic food I would take boiled shoe leather over summoned steak and potatoes… Sorry, got side tracked there for a moment.” Jana looked into the sink at the frying pan that still had burnt on seasoning and bits of fish stuck to it. “Maybe a little magic won’t hurt…” She snapped her fingers and the pan was spotless. “There we go. All Clean. Shall we talk in your room or mine?” 

“My room definitely, I…” Ella stopped and actually started blushing and tried to hide it.

“Is something wrong?” Jana asked, a little concerned, as cute as Ella was when blushing, the sudden change had the genie worried.

“No, nothing’s wrong it’s just… Well I’ve never taken a pretty girl alone to my room before… Well apart from earlier but… Oh you know what I mean!” She said in a flustered huff, still bright pink. 

The concerned feeling was gone, now Jana was just left with a whole lot of cute to deal with! “Don’t worry Ella, you’ve been a perfect gentlelady so far.” She motioned for her mistress to lead the way and they returned to the basement suite. The genie couldn’t help but feel flattered by the compliment and annoyed at how little Karen knew her own daughter… no, no Karen knew, she just actively chose to ignore the truth which was much worse… “Do you think your parents will let me stay?”

Ella let out a sigh once they were back in her room, the door locked behind them, and pulled out a hidden pack of double stuffed oreos from behind a stack of books. She took two for herself before offering the pack to Jana, “With mom it's anyone’s guess. Only her vote matters after all. You’ve done a lot to make her hate you in a short time.”

“Good!” She said through a mouthful of cookies. “I’m not doing anything to win the approval of that poorly disguised banshee, apart from giving her the money I can pull from the ether.” 

Ella paused in thought for a moment, “I don’t suppose there’s any chance she is actually some monster from an ancient legend we could kill with holy water could we?”

“Nah, no such luck. Take it from a Norse girl and a genie. Most of the fairy folk and witches and the like aren’t bad people. Your mother is more the sort of person that leads the angry mobs and that goblin parents tell cautionary stories to their kids about. She’s all human; more’s the pity.” She sighed and looked over at the bag that held her lamp. “We need to find a good place to keep that safe, then I say we have a good night’s sleep and we go have some fun in the morning.”

“Right. I bet you have all kinds of plans for tomorrow.” Ella said, getting up to check and see if there was enough space under the bed to hide the lamp there.

With her head turned away from Jana, she didn’t see the surprise on the genie’s face. “My plans? Oh no I meant your plans Ella. I thought for sure you’d want to use a wish or two tomorrow.”

Ella came back out to look at her friend, “What are you talking about? Remember I made a promise to you? You get all the time out and about you could want while I figure out how best to use my wishes. Tomorrow we’re doing anything you want!” 

Jana was touched by this selfless attitude. “Even with that dragon upstairs… you’re still thinking of my happiness first? Ella, you are one of the nicest humans I’ve met in centuries…” Before Ella had the chance to respond they heard movement upstairs and assumed it was one of the parents going to check on what the kids were doing. With a smile, a quick kiss on Ella’s cheek, and a whispered “Thank you,” the magical girl disappeared in a puff of smoke to take up her position for the night in the guest room, leaving Ella alone and blushing hard in her quiet space.


	4. Raised by Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jana takes Ella to visit an old friend
> 
> Warning: contains some nudity and discussion of sex.

Ella awoke early from a restless night's sleep. Sure this wasn’t unusual; between too much sugar before bed, an overactive imagination, and a trained desire to be awake and out of the house before her parents were up, her brain never let her sleep as long as she would like to. However last night there was a new contributing factor. Jana’s kiss.

Sure, it had been just a quick peck on the cheek. Ella had kissed girls before, she even had a few girlfriends in middle and high school before she had realized she was a girl. But since coming out, Jana was the first… and it made the experience feel brand new! That overactive imagination was doing things to her that made her want to take a cold shower! “Hormones under control Ella… she’s very nice and super pretty but she’s a married woman!” She was now talking to herself in a mirror against the wall. “Keep it together Ella… you can’t get a crush on every cute girl who smiles at you… again…”

She brushed out her hair and pulled off her boring boys pajamas and put on her dumb boys t shirt and jeans. She sighed and completed the look with her favorite hoodie. “One day Ella…” she said under her breath, not being that fond of the reflection staring back at her.

She jumped hearing a gentle knock on the door. Definitely not her parents. They were never up this early, and they wouldn’t knock either. “Jana? Is that you?” She asked before opening the door. 

Jana smiled and gave a little wave. Today she was wearing a skirt and leggings with what seemed to be a school debate team shirt. At the center was a large hairy viking that seemed in mid yell with text around him “Midgard Community College, the louder you yell, the more right you are!”

“Morning Ella!” the genie said cheerfully. “Hope I didn’t wake you, but I thought i heard you moving around down here.” 

“Uhh no” said Ella, taken aback by Jana’s new look. “I was already awake. Where did you get that top?”

“Oh, it’s just something I threw together.” Jana said, casually. “I thought it would be funny after seeing how Karen reacted to my prayer yesterday.”

“Threw together?” repeated Ella. “You mean you can create clothes from scratch?” She paused as her mind raced through all the possibilities.

Jana smiled. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m sure I can create some nice clothes for you too. Though it would probably be wise to do it away from the eyes of...” She gestured upstairs. “You know who.”

“Good point.” said Ella, as the two young women began making their way upstairs. “Have you decided what you wanted to do today Jana? Maybe we can start with me making you a nice breakfast?”

“You… you want to cook for me?” Was it Ella’s imagination or was Jana tearing up. “I’m sorry, but… no master has ever treated me like a human being… Ever thought of my desires like you.”

Ella couldn’t help but blush, “I was just asking if you wanted an omelette.” She muttered sheepishly, “Everyone deserves that kind of respect… even if it’s not always given.” She sighed, looking down the hall in the direction of her parents room.

Jana was silent for a moment before asking, “Am I going too far if I ask you for a hug? I feel like we both could use it…” Ella smiled and nodded, holding her arms out. The unlikely pair embraced, holding each other tight, as if trying to protect the other from the rest of the world. After a moment and a few soft tears they broke apart. “An omelette sounds great Ella.” Jana said with a bit of a laugh in her voice.

“Coming right up!” Ella said laughing too. She pulled up the sleeves of her hoodie and got to work. Her movements were practiced, quick and quiet, doing all she could to not make noise. She did it so well Jana knew this couldn’t be the first time Ella had cooked this way; all just an effort to draw less attention to herself from the monster asleep not far away. 

Before Jana could dwell on this for very long, a plate was placed in front of her. A perfectly cooked farmers omelette stuffed full of ham cheese and diced onions and peppers, complete with buttered toast. “How… How did you do this so fast?” Jana asked, wondering if maybe her mistress was the one with magic. 

Ella shrugged as she plated up her own food. “When you cook for yourself enough times you learn a few tricks and shortcuts. Coffee?” She was already brewing a pot to make herself a cup.

“Yes please. Just milk in mine please.” Janna smiled watching her friend finish up, noting that Ella took her’s black with what seemed an excessive amount of sugar. 

“So.” said Ella, passing Jana her coffee while she stirred her own. “Have you thought about what you’d like to do today? Got any friends you’d like to visit?”

“Friends?” Jana repeated. The genie thought about all she had done in the hundreds of years she had been a genie. All the people she had met. Had she made friends? Sure! But only a few every century, and she had spent the last two decades in the lamp. If any of her old acquaintances were still alive, would they even remember her?

“Yeah.” said Ella. “I thought, maybe you had some genie friend?. Or some other kind of magical creatures?”

Those words sparked something in Jana’s head. She suddenly remembered! Maybe there was someone she could visit, if they were still alive, that is. It would still be an interesting outing either way. Not to mention, Ella would love it!

“Now that you mention it,” said Jana, “There is somewhere we could go…”

“Great!” said Ella, wondering what it could be. “Well then, eat up! We can head out as soon as we’re ready!”  
____________________________________________________________________________

The poor excuses for parents still had not gotten up by the time the girls had left the house. They walked about a block down the street before Ella started asking questions, “So, how far away is your friend? I don’t have a car but we got a good bus system around here if they’re close by.”

Jana laughed a bit at that, “Well if my friend Sofia is still where she was living when we parted, she’d be deep in a forest in northern Canada, so I don’t think a car or a bus will help.” She looked around as if checking to see if they were being watched, “We’re just walking far enough away from the houses that no one sees us teleport.”

Ella was practically vibrating from excitement “Oh gods, this is going to be so cool!” She tried her best to calm down and not have a geek girl freak out. “So tell me about this friend of yours. Is she human or… a more magical friend?”

“Oh, I suppose there’s no need to be coy about it…” said Jana, grinning. “Her name is Sofia, and she’s a werewolf.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” gasped Ella.

“Yep! This seems far enough!” said Jana, looking around and ignoring Ella’s reaction. She snapped her fingers and the two vanished in a puff of smoke.

Suddenly, the girls found themselves in a dense forest of pinewood trees, stretching high above them. Ella had never been anywhere like this before; there were virtually no signs of civilisation to be seen.

Jana snapped her fingers again, and suddenly, she and Ella were wearing hiking boots. “Shouldn’t be too far for us to walk. Let’s go!”

As they walked, Ella couldn’t help asking a few questions. “Jana? When you say that your friend is a werewolf, you don’t mean a huge, vicious monster, do you?”

“Gods, no!” laughed the genie girl. “Werewolves aren’t any way near as vicious as you might think. Most of them are just trying to live their lives in peace.”

Ella blinked in confusion. “So they don’t lose control, and turn into enormous savage wolf-monsters?”

“I wouldn’t say they lose control when they transform.” said Jana. “They can get a bit more “wolfish” in terms of behaviour, but they only attack people when threatened.”

Ella gave a sigh of relief, before looking up at the sunlight, peeking through the trees. “I guess we’re lucky it’s daytime. No full moon.”

“Oh, they can still transform in daylight.” Jana remarked, casually. “Most of the time, they can shift between forms whenever they want. It’s just when there’s a full moon that their powers are so strong, that they are forced to spend the night in wolf form.”

“Wait!” said Ella. “So, you’re saying that we might actually meet…”

Suddenly, She was cut off by a loud howl, echoing through the woods. Far from being frightened, Jana smiled at the sound of the howl. It was too rich in tone to be a normal animal. Too human. “Ha! Perfect! The pack is still here!”

“PACK!?” Ella repeated, starting to panic just a little. “As in more than one? Just how many wolves are-” She was cut off by a second howl answering the first one and a rustling in the bushes. “Oh gods…”

Jana took hold of Ella’s hand in hers. “Ella, deep breath. Werewolves are much friendlier than Hollywood would have you believe. And even if they weren’t…” Ella’s gaze moved to a ridge above them as if watching for movement. Trying to calm her Jana put a hand to her cheek. “Hey. Hey! Come on Ella. Look at me, not them ok?” After a moment and a deep breath Ella managed to look away from the tree line and Jana continued, “Even if they weren’t friendly, trust in me that i would never have taken you anywhere that I would let you get hurt. Ok?”

Ella was blushing again. Jana was so brave. “Ok Jana…” She said softly, “I trust you.”

Jana nodded and kept a hold on Ella’s hand, but turned around to see three massive wolves standing at the top of the ridge, standing far too still for wild animals, watching them. Jana inclined her head in greeting. “Good morning. My name is Jana of Dublin, this is my mistress Ella Grant. I am a genie, and we are here in peace to see a very old friend of mine; Sofia Olsen. Is she here?”

The wolves looked at each other and the biggest one started gently making its way towards the two girls. As it neared them, the wolf began transforming. The body began to stretch and deform, turning the front legs in shoulders and arms. The black fur was thinning out and the wolf’s muzzle was receding inwards. So much was changing so fast that the only thing Ella could think upon seeing it, was how painful it must be… However that concern quickly left Ella’s mind when she realized the wolf was not only female, but naked under her fur. She tried her best not to stare at all the bare skin the she-wolf was now showing to her.... She only looked back when she felt Jana’s grip tighten on her hand.

Before them stood a muscular, six foot tall woman with long black hair hanging loosely down her back and over her shoulders. She made no efforts to cover herself… Honestly, Jana couldn’t blame the she-wolf for having pride in her body. She looked like a world class athlete! However even Ella’s useless lesbian impulses weren’t distracting her from the pained expression paired with tears of joy on Jana’s face.

“Sofia? Is it really you? Do you remember me?” She let go of Ella’s hand and started walking closer to the much larger woman. “It’s been so long… You’ve grown so much… Don’t you remember? You used to call me Janny when you were really little. You… You couldn’t say genie… I… I don’t think I’d have a name if it wasn’t for you… I…” She was in a full flow of tears at this point and unable to contain herself. “Sofia!” She cried out and ran forward to hug the strange silent woman.

Ella almost reached out to stop her friend, but to her surprise, the she-wolf pulled Jana in close for an oddly tender embrace, letting the magical girl just cry onto her bare shoulder for a long moment. 

“I’m sorry to tell you but, I'm not Sofia.” said the she-wolf. Her voice was deep and velvety, so much so that it took Ella a moment to realise what she had just said. “But I do know her. We have all heard stories of you, Genie.”

Jana took a step back, breaking away from the she-wolf. “You’re not Sofia?!” she yelped, blushing furiously. “Oh… No! Of course, you’re not… It’s been nearly 80 years...” Her voice trembled as she said this, prompting Ella to step forward and place a comforting hand on the magical girl’s shoulder.

“Fear not.” the she-wolf smiled. “Sofia still lives with us, back at the village. My name is Lupa Olsen. I’m Sofia’s granddaughter.” She turned and gestured up to the two wolves on the ridge. “Those two are my brothers; Vilkas and Farkas.”

Slowley, Jana’s face broke out into a smile. “Of course you are!” she said, through tears of joy. “You’ve got her eyes! Please, can you take me to her?”

Lupa looked at the two girls, as if she was examining them. “Hmmm…” she said, looking at Ella, and then back to Jana. “Shouldn’t you ask your mistress first?”

Ella blushed as Lupa and Jana both turned to look at her. She had been caught off-guard by Lupa referring to her as Jana’s “mistress”. On the one hand she was overjoyed that the naked hot lady saw her as female, but she also felt uncomfortable with the implication that Jana was her servant, and not her friend.

“Uuhhh…” she said slowly, “It’s fine by me...” 

“Very well.” said Lupa, as she turned and called up at her brothers on top of the ridge, who had been watching their conversation with great interest. “Vilkas! Farkas! We’re taking them back to the village.”

The two male werewolves made their way down, though they stayed in wolf form. When they reached the bottom, Ella got a good look at the scale of these creatures; They were huge! They were closer in scale to lions then any normal wolves.

One of the wolves (Farkas, according to Lupa) began to shift, only instead of becoming fully-human, he instead stood on his hind legs as his fur receded slightly, and his body took on the form of a bipedal wolf.

“Werewolves have three main forms.” explained Jana, who had noticed Ella’s bewildered expression. “There’s the full-wolf form, full-human form and then this one is somewhere in between the other two.”

As Farkas stood up, Ella noticed he was wearing a belt with numerous pouches, which had been previously covered up by fur. Lupa walked over to Farkas, opened up one of the pouches and pulled out a blindfold.

Lupa handed the blindfold to Ella. “Put this on.” she said. “The path to our village must be kept a secret for first-time visitors, until we can determine that you are not a threat.”

Ella looked at Jana who nodded and magically produced a blindfold of her own. “I’ll do it with you, Ella. No special treatment for either of us.” This did make Ella feel better as she tied the blindfold around her head. 

Ella took hold of Jana’s hand as the genie took Lupa’s to guide them. “Lead the way, Lupa!” She said.

Of course, walking through the woods blind didn’t make it an easy journey. It wasn’t helped by the many now-unidentifiable noises all around them, or the fact she was holding hands with her beautiful genie friend. To keep from getting scared, Ella focused on the sound of Jana’s breathing, and then her voice when she started talking to Lupa.

“Look, Lupa…” said Jana, nervously. “I’m sorry about that awkward introduction back there… mistaken identity, complex emotions… I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries.”

“Hey don’t worry about it.” Lupa replied “You looked like you needed a hug.” Neither Jana, nor Ella could see it, but Lupa’s tone of voice suggested that she was smiling. “Even if I’m not who you thought I was, I was happy to be a shoulder to cry on.”

One of the male wolves made a series of growls that Lupa apparently had no problem understanding, “Oh Farkas, don’t be such a stick in the mud!” Lupa snapped back at her brother. “I won’t apologize for being nice to a woman in tears.”

The other wolf growled with a cadence that almost sounded like a laugh.

“I do not have a human fetish, Vilkas! That isn’t even a thing!” Lupa cried out, voice cracking a little with embarrassment. “Besides” she continued in a mumble, “My boyfriend isn’t human anymore, and you know that…”

“Wait, what?” said Ella. She had heard plenty of strange things lately, but the particular phrasing of that previous sentence was too strange to ignore. “What do you mean by “anymore”?”

“If I had to guess...” Jana interjected, “Her boyfriend has probably been turned into a werewolf. Lycanthropy can be transmitted sexually if you don’t use the correct protection spells.”

There was a brief silence, then both Farkas and Vilkas began making the same growling laugh noise. While Ella couldn’t see her, she imagined that Lupa had gone red with embarrassment at how accurate Jana’s statement had been.

“In my defense…” came Lupa’s voice, after a few slightly tense moments, “My boyfriend is a practicing mage, and he said that he was using “protection”, as he put it. Turns out he thought a simple condom would suffice.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “It worked about as well as you’d expect it to. Let’s just say it was a good thing that I was with him on the next full moon.”

As Farkas and Vilkas continued their beastly snickering, Ella couldn’t help hanging on every word Lupa said. 

“Your boyfriend’s a mage?!” she gasped. “Like, a wizard?”

“Not if he’s still training,” said Jana. “Wizards are masters of a specific magical art. “Mage” is more of an umbrella term for magic users.” Of course, Jana knew all about magic. “What kind of magic is he studying?”

“He hasn’t decided on a specific one yet.” Lupa replied. “He’s Rhea’s newest apprentice. She’s the local witch. So I guess you could say he’s a witch-in-training.”

“Local witch?!” said Ella in surprise. Lupa had called her ‘local’ like a town having a witch was normal for everyone.

“Oh, did I forget to mention Rhea?” said Jana, sheepishly, “I’ll admit I’m actually surprised she’s still alive too. They say she travels around with this tribe wherever they go to protect it, and as long as the tribe is alive, so is she. At least that’s what the stories say, and even I don’t know if they’re true.”

“No, that’s true.” Lupa started, “You see-” She was cut off very quickly by both of her brothers barking loudly. “Oh, Right! Pack secrets. Probably shouldn’t say too much to first time guests, even if they are friendlies.” 

They walked in silence for a moment, but Lupa couldn’t keep quiet very long. Jana could tell by how the larger woman was gripping her hand that she was full of stories and was fighting not to tell them. 

Just as Ella was preparing to ask another question, she felt a change in the atmosphere around her. The humidity was increasing as well as the heat, and she could hear running water very close by. “What… What is that? A geyser?”

“A hot spring.” Jana corrected, a small crack in her voice from nerves. “We must be close.”

“How’d you know that?” Lupa asked before the others could stop her from blurting it out.

“It’s good for recreation, but also would mask heat signatures and provide a thermal power source. It’s an excellent hiding place.” She seemed to be focusing on details and ideas to not think about what happens next.

“Alright, this is far enough.” Lupa said, letting go of Jana. “You can take them off now.” 

At the same time both girls removed their blindfolds. They seem to have just walked through the hot spring and were standing at the far side of it. They looked out at the settlement before them and felt… Surprise. Not by the number or residents, or the number of buildings, but by the fact everything was… Well, modern. They could see electric lights and stone paved pathways. One bipedal wolf waved from the garden he was watering outside of a very cute tiny house. Some very little human kids were playing in the front yard of a large old house made of rustic timbers. The town was loud, asymmetrical, with no two homes, gardens or people exactly alike… Ella loved it right away!

However, one thing Ella would have liked some warning for, was the sheer lack of clothing on most of the villagers. Those in wolf-form all wore nothing, aside from the occasional belt or satchel. Most of those in human form were either nude, or wearing very little. This was apparently a clothes-optional society, as nobody seemed to mind. It made sense the more Ella thought about it. Too many clothes would be annoying to remove every time a person felt like transforming, or heading off to the hot springs. Still, she found herself blush at the large number of naked warrior women, as well as naked warrior men, which made her question her sexuality even more! Thankful for her state of mind, the very young and the elderly at least wore robes for some basic coverage.

The new arrivals got a lot of attention from the locals. The kids crowded around Lupa asking for news. It was then Ella noticed one particular wolf acting strangely among the residents. This wolf seemed to be an adult, but was noticeably shorter than the other wolves they had seen. The smaller wolf had sat bolt-upright when the new visitors had come into view. As soon as he saw Ella watching him, he turned tail to run deeper into the woods.

Lupa noticed him run, as well as Ella staring. “That would be Prospero; My boyfriend.” She said simply as if that explained everything, before adding. “Don’t worry about him. He’s still new to all this. I can introduce you later.” 

“Prospero?” Ella repeated. “Is that really his name?”

Lupa shrugged. “He chose it for himself. Many of those who join the pack are runaways. A few of them will choose a new name for themselves when they join. He chose his name from an old wizard story.”

Ella couldn’t argue with that. She knew what it meant to choose a new name, especially if it was to escape the past. Still there was something familiar to her about that name. Maybe she had heard that particular story before.

Lupa pushed through the crowd, leading excitable Ella and hesitant Jana to the old timber house. “Ok… Let’s try this again…” Jana mumbled to herself. Lupa went into the house first and the girls followed. 

The foyer and hall were dimly lit and the walls were lined with photographs.Ella saw multiple photos of Lupa’s family, in both wolf and human forms. She noticed a recent-looking photo of Lupa smiling, with two scrawny teenage boys either side of her. It took her a moment to figure out who the two boys were. “Are they your brothers?” Ella asked, trying not to smirk.

“Yep!” said Lupa, grinning. “They spend a lot of time in wolf form these days. It took a lot of convincing to get them to smile for that photo. They’re a pair of idiots, but we all love them.”

Ella continued to stare at the photo, perplexed. “They sure do look different as wolves.”

“A werewolf’s wolf form tends to mature faster than the human one.” Explained Jana, who seemed happy to have something to distract her from her nerves. “By the time they’re about 15, the wolf form could pass for an adult. But the human form? Well…” she gestured to the two lanky 15 year olds in the photo.

The three girls laughed, and carried on through the house. Jana kept asking Lupa questions about her family every time she spotted a new face in the pictures on the wall. As they slowly made their way down the hall, Ella and Jana learned all about the werewolf family. 

Sofia was Lupa’s grandmother on her dad’s side. Lupa’s dad, a blonde, cheerful-looking, middle-aged man named Markus, was married to a woman named Laura, Lupa’s mother, who was the spitting-image of her daughter. As well as Lupa, Vilkas and Farkas, there was a fourth, youngest child named Logan. Logan looked to be about 6 or 7, going by his photograph. He had long and wild black hair, and a wide toothy grin. 

When Ella asked Lupa what her little brother was like, the wolf-girl simply smiled, and responded, “Loud, energetic and annoying. But pretty good as a performer.” She then carried on walking, feeling as though she had said enough.

Jana gasped as they came across an old looking photo of a man and a woman holding a baby. The genie recognized the woman in the photo right away. “Sofia…?” she breathed.

“Yep!” said Lupa. “That’s her and Grandpa Karl. The baby is my dad.”

“She got married… Had a family…” Jana still seemed to be processing just how long she had been gone. “Is your Grandpa… Is Karl...?”

“He’s still around, don’t worry.” chuckled Lupa. “He trained as a mage before he married Nana. Nowadays, he spends a lot of time helping Rhea train newer students.” She paused, and muttered under her breath, “Maybe attraction to mages runs in the family? After all, Grandpa did introduce me to…” She then noticed Ella and Jana watching her, and blushed. “Uuhhh… Let’s move on.”

Eventually, they reached the end of the hall and entered a space that seemed to be a large living room. The furniture was old and hand made, and there were nic-nacs and curios on every counter and shelf. 

However, neither Ella nor Jana paid the trinkets much attention. Their gazes both fell on a pair sitting on the sofa; Lupa’s father, Markus, in human form reading aloud to a very old wolf with thinning grey hair, a blanket laid over top of her.

Lupa cleared her throat to get their attention, “Hi Nana… so… funny story…” she said just now realizing how strange this whole situation was, “I was out on patrol and found someone who… says she knows you…” 

She stepped aside to show Jana standing there on the verge of crying again. “Hello Sofia… Do you remember me?”

The grey wolf who seemed so frail at a glance sat up suddenly to stare at the guests. She barked at her son who helped her down from the sofa.

“Nana spends most of her time in wolf form these days.” said Lupa, softely. “Staying like this gives her a bit of extra strength.”

“Lupa?” said Markus, staring at the strangers that his daughter had just invited in. “Who are these two? You said they know mom?”

“Um... Hi.” said Jana, nervously.

Markus was shorter than his daughter and was wearing a plain white t-shirt with sweatpants. However, he still projected an intimidating aura, as he eyed the two girls suspiciously. “Who are you? How do you know my mother?”

Lupa stepped forward. “Dad! It’s okay! This is Jana. She’s a… She’s the genie… The one who saved Nana…”

“She’s…” he paused mid sentence when he saw his mother was slowly transforming. He quickly grabbed and wrapped a fluffy pink bathrobe around her shoulders. As her features became more human, tears began streaming down her cheeks. 

“J-Janny? It… it can’t be…” she was tiny and frail looking, with very wrinkled skin, but her eyes were still bright and sharp.

“It is Sofia! I thought I’d never see you again!” Jana sobbed tears of joy. She wanted to run and embrace her friend, but she managed to hold back so as to not hurt the little old lady… She was certainly surprised when said little old lady actually ran forward to knock the wind out of the genie with an enormous hug.

“You’re here… you came back…” the elder she-wolf held onto the genie as tight as she could as if making sure she was real.

Lupa smiled and wiped away a tear from her cheek. She turned away from the crying women to speak to Ella, “Maybe we should give them some time alone… Dad, you want to come too? We could make tea for our guest.” Taking the hint, the two wolves and the human left the two old friends alone with each other and their memories.


	5. Old and New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella is told the story of Sofia and Jana’s time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning for brief descriptions of graphic violence.

As Ella sat in the house’s cozy kitchen with Markus and Lupa, she couldn’t help feel a little out of her comfort zone. Jana was busy catching up with Sofia in the other room, and while Ella was glad that her friend was having a good time, she felt understandably nervous about being on her own with two werewolves.

On their way to the kitchen, Lupa had grabbed a bathrobe for herself to slip into, which made Ella feel slightly better. If nothing else, it was easier to concentrate when she wasn’t also trying to avoid eye contact with a hot naked wolf-girl.

Markus had brewed three mugs of herbal tea, and placed a bowl of homemade venison jerky on the table. The three of them sat around the table, each waiting for one of the others to speak first. 

Eventually, Ella broke the silence by addressing Markus. “So if you’re Sofia’s son, and Lupa’s dad, does that make you the pack’s alpha male?”

Markus exchanged a bemused look with his daughter, before they both started laughing. 

“I think you’ve been reading too much bad fiction, young lady.” laughed Markus. “We wolves don’t believe in such backwards concepts. We all work and hunt together as equals.” He looked at a picture on the wall of his children. “True, the pups are taught to respect and listen to their elders. But once they reach adulthood, we’re all equals.”

Lupa smirked slightly at her dad’s speech. “That being said… You still do pretty much anything Nana tells you to.”

Markus gave his daughter a sly grin. “And you’re exactly the same with your mother, despite you being 26.”

As Lupa laughed and playfully shoved her father’s shoulder, Ella couldn't help feeling a little jealous of the friendly relationship between the father and daughter. She had always hoped to have something like that with at least one of her parents. Sadly, Jerry was far too dull and boring, and the less said about Karen, the better.

Looking to change the subject, Ella decided to ask some more questions. “So what’s the story with Jana and your grandma? You two didn’t recognize her at first but she and Sofia seem to go way back.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I assumed you knew.” said Markus. “I can’t give you the full history, but I can tell you what mom told me.” He sipped his tea and sat back in his chair, getting ready to tell a story.

“When my mother was just a little pup, my grandparents found the magic lamp. It was 1930, and they were living in Norway. They were young lovers from two different tribes of wolves, traveling together, finding themselves and…. if we are being honest, probably not being very attentive parents to my mother.”

Lupa interjected, “Not everyone is cut out to be a parent. In a tribe you have people who can help… but lone wolves like them…”

Markus nodded and continued. “My grandmother was Romani, so they frequently stayed with her people in their travels. One night, they met an old man who claimed to have found a pirate’s treasure trove earlier that year. He was very drunk, probably spent most of the treasure on booze. All he had left was an old lamp that had been among the treasure and was trying to find someone who would trade the lamp for a fresh skin of wine. A very good price for what they got out of it, but a lousy deal for the drunk.”

Ella nodded “Not too different from what happened to me. I found the lamp in a yard sale.”

The wolves gave a little laugh at that. “But you see, they only bought it because my mother wanted it. It was just a cheap brass oil lamp decorated with a mosaic of colored glass. My mother wanted it as a jewel encrusted teapot to play with.”

“I guess the lamp can change shape…” Ella said to herself. Making a mental note that it could be a way to help them better hide it later.

“I would love to know what grandma thought when she went to have a tea party with her dolls, and a redhead in a pirate outfit popped out of nowhere.” Lupa said with a bite of jerky in her mouth.

Ella choked on her tea from the force of that mental image. “Pirate outfit?!” She spluttered, trying not to blush at the thought. She now couldn’t help her mind from placing Jana in costumes from several of her steamier romance novels… No! What was she thinking?!

“Yes… Well, anyway…” continued Markus, “My mother was the first to discover the genie, so she became her new mistress. She was 3 years old at the time.”

“Oh god…” Ella let that sentence sink in, “A 3 year old in the possession of Jana’s lamp?! That would be either catastrophic, or adorable… Or both...” 

Markus smiled “Luckily, my mother went adorable. She wished for a pony, a giant cookie and for Jana to be her friend.”

“Mister Olsen…” Ella smiled. “Your mother sounds like she was the cutest child in history!” 

The wolf let out a bark of a laugh, “Don’t make that decision too soon. You haven’t met Logan yet. But now just think about it; the confusion of my grandparents when they came home and find a horse named Coco trying to eat the carpet, a cookie the size of a mattress in the hallway, and their daughter having a tea party with a mysterious red head!” 

Ella smiled at the mental image, but her expression fell when she saw that Markus and Lupa weren’t smiling. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “What happened then?”

Markus sighed. “It’s not a part of my family history that I’m proud of. I know that my grandparents came to regret their actions later, and tried to make up for it. But that doesn’t excuse what they did to Jana when they found out what she was…”

“Oh no…” Ella could guess that the wishes of two poverty-stricken werewolves in the early 1930s would not be as innocent as a 3 year old girl’s.

“Exactly. Not to mention they were abusing the system. My grandma and grandpa took three wishes each instead of three for both of them. My grandmother made her wishes first.” Markus ticked them off on his fingers, “She wished for a mansion, then for wealth… and worst of all, she wished for Jana to be their servant until my grandfather had used his wishes.”

“They did what!?!” Ella cried out, “She’s a person! No one deserves to be treated like that!”

Father and daughter seemed genuinely impressed by the outrage. They knew Jana wasn’t just a servant to this young woman. Ella took a deep breath to calm herself, “I’m almost afraid to ask, but how long did she live like that?”

“Ten years…” Lupa said, ashamed her family was capable of that. “Ten years as the one and only servant of a huge estate. She cooked, she cleaned, she tended the grounds, provided security, and most importantly was the nanny and tutor to Nana.”

Even with magic that amount of work felt inhuman for one person. “That’s horrible!”

Markus sighed “Like I said, we aren’t proud of it. Don’t worry, I’m told Jana put up a fight. She would clean badly, writing swear words in the dust, or mess up cooking anything that my mother wasn’t going to eat. She once served my grandfather a completely raw steak that she made look cooked by painting it with shoe polish!... of course since he was a wolf with simple tastes, raw meat and leather shoes were both his favorites, so that prank backfired.”

“Please tell me this story has a happy ending.” said Ella.

“Sort of..” said Markus, “My grandfather had the problem that he wasn’t very specific with his wishes. His first wish was simply to get a screenplay he had been writing turned into a successful film. Jana took the screenplay to Hollywood, and sold it to a guy for $50.”

“...And was it made into a successful film?” Ella asked.

“In a way, yes.” chuckled Lupa. “The screenplay was heavily edited and rewritten, to the point where the writer Jana had sold it to was able to pass it off as his own. Great-grandpa’s screenplay eventually became “The Wolf-Man”!” She finished the sentence as if she had just gotten to the punchline of a joke. Even Markus looked amused, before noticing Ella’s perplexed look.

“Oh, you probably don’t know.” He said, grinning. “That film is considered by us werewolves to be one of the greatest unintentional comedies ever made. The designs and characterizations of werewolves are so inaccurate that it’s hard not to laugh at them. To be honest, a part of me is almost proud that a relative of mine helped to create it.”

Ella felt immensely proud of Jana upon hearing this story. Hearing that her friend had been abused in such a way was heartbreaking. But it felt good to know that she had been able to fight back against her abusers and remain such a funny, caring and positive person.

“Anyway…” Markus continued, his smile fading slightly, “My grandfather was not happy with Jana’s actions. He used his second wish to ensure that Jana would be a better servant. She was forced to complete all her tasks without question or complaint, and she had to do them all properly; no more pranks, and no more twisting words.”

Ella could barely take it. Her hands covered her mouth as she tried to imagine how horrible it must have been for Jana. To not be able to say no, or even complain. Being forced to complete every task with a smile, all while she probably would have been screaming on the inside. 

Lupa walked around the table, and sat next to Ella, placing a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Oh, Ella!” she said. “I’m so sorry. I know this must be difficult to hear.”

Markus paused, as he looked down in shame. “My mother always told me...” he muttered. “...the only times when Jana seemed to be genuinely happy, were when she was with her. She saw Jana as a friend, not a servant, and always let her choose what games they played.”

Ella stared at her tea for a long moment, thinking about the struggles of her own life. “Sometimes all it takes to make it through something that horrible is just one good friend… But what happened then? They were almost out of wishes by that point.”

“Well…” said Markus, “That’s where this story takes a turn. They were living in Norway at the time, close to where my grandfather’s clan had been. It had been a peaceful place for them, until April of 1940; when the Nazis invaded Norway. Needless to say, they complicated matters.”

Lupa picked up the story for a bit, “Since they were considered a mixed race couple, and great grandma was a Romani with a lot of money living in a mansion, they drew a lot of hate and attention pretty fast.”

“I’ll bet…” Ella said silently, not expecting this surprise twist to the story, though if she had known anything about history outside of her own country she would have seen it coming. “So what then? Jana used her magic to protect them?”

“Oh no, they were able to take care of themselves at first.” Lupa said, with a somewhat wicked grin. “The Gestapo kept coming to the mansion to try and take them, and they routinely had their throats torn out or their guts ripped open and left for the crows.”

“That’s one thing I will always respect my grandparents for.” added Markus.

Ella choked on her tea for the second time since the story had begun. “They killed Nazis with their bare hands!”

“Don’t be silly, they did it with their claws and fangs!” said Lupa. The wolf-girl spoke about her family disemboweling Nazis in a weirdly casual tone. “They were wolves after all, they weren’t going anywhere with the brown shirts without a fight.”

“... That’s probably the coolest thing I have ever heard of…” Ella said, her voice soft with awe and respect.

Markus smirked, “Of course they couldn’t keep that up forever. Every time, the Germans came back with more and more soldiers. After a while, my family had no choice but to run, leaving behind everything they couldn’t carry with them. With their lives in danger and Jana’s magic limited, the four of them finally started to make peace. My grandparents saw how much they truly cared for my mother, and how horrible they had been to the one person capable of keeping her safe.” 

He sighed, seeing that his mug of tea was empty, only now realizing how long they had been talking. “I won’t go into too much of the details of their time on the run. That’s a long story on it’s own. In the end, after one attempt on their lives too many, my grandfather knew he had to use the final wish. He begged for Jana to get them to someplace where his family could be protected.”

Ella could guess where the story went next, as she remembered what Jana had told her about Rhea, the witch who had protected the werewolf village for centuries. “Jana knew about Rhea and her promise to protect werewolves.” She said, slowly. “I guess she teleported them across the sea to safety.

Markus nodded. “Exactly. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs, but they had their lives and that was all that mattered. They thanked Jana on bended knee, begging her forgiveness for all they had done to her… I don’t know if she ever did forgive them. Once she knew my mother was safe and she had said her goodbyes, Jana asked Rhea to send her lamp away, to give her a chance at peace if only for a little while…”

“I can take over from here…” said a voice from the doorway, making the three of them turn to look. Jana had entered the room with Sofia. The genie was assisting her old friend towards a chair by the table.

“Nana! You’re up!” said Lupa, immediately standing up to lend the 93 year old woman some extra assistance.

“Mom!” said Markus, in a surprised tone somewhere between joy and concern. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Oh, stop fussing, dear!” laughed Sofia, as she lowered herself into the chair. “I’ve just been catching up with Janny. Telling her all the things that happened since we last saw each other.”

“You’ve clearly lived quite a life” said Jana, smiling at her old friend. “I’m so proud and happy for you, Sofia.”

“So…” said Sofia, turning to look at Ella. “You’re Janny’s newest mistress? She’s told me all about you. How you’re giving her all this freedom and choice. I just thought I’d let you know, you’re a wonderful young lady.”

It was at that point that Ella finally realised something. Jana had initially introduced her to the wolves as a girl, and they had all been completely accepting. No one had even done a double take or given her a confused look. Ella understood that she usually appeared androgynous at best, so why was everyone so quick to accept her as a girl?

“Ella? Is something wrong?” said Jana, apparently noticing her mistress’s perplexed expression.

“I… well no, nothing is wrong.” Ella realised she was smiling. “In fact I probably shouldn’t be complaining but… How does everyone here know I’m a girl without being told? I know I’m not passing that well!”

Sofia gave a spirited laugh for someone who looked so old and frail, “Oh there’s no great secret to that my dear. There is a magic in this forest thanks to the fae folk that we share it with. They not only help protect us, but at times they help us in subtler ways.”

“Fae folk? You mean like… fairies?” Ella began to feel an excitement in her chest that she hadn’t felt in years. She had always loved hearing fairy stories as a kid. She had secretly watched “WINX Club” when no-one was looking, and had even owned a book on the mythology of fairies. Sadly, Karen had thrown the book out years ago and WINX had been taken off the air.

“So you’re saying there’s magic fairies in the woods, and they’re making me look more like a girl?”

Jana put a hand on her mistress’s shoulder, “Do you remember when we first met, I said I could see that you had a girl’s soul? Thanks to the magic in the air, everyone else can see it too.” The genie magically summoned a handheld mirror which she handed to Ella, who stared into it excitedly. 

Ella couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly had changed, but there was no mistaking the feminine face staring back at her as her own. Her usually messy hair seemed longer and more voluminous, as if she had been to a stylist. Her skin seemed smoother and her lips were more full and less chapped. Finally, her eyes shone like they never had before; she had the pretty eyes of a woman from a classical portrait.

Ella was quiet for a moment, staring into the mirror before turning to smile at Jana, “So… this entire town would always see me as a woman?... Can I live here?” She was only half joking. Living in an adorable village in the forest that would never misgender her sounded like a wonderful idea!

Sofia smiled softly, “Someday maybe. For now it’s better for you to see a bit more of life, before you put down roots. You’ve still got some wishes to use up from what I hear.”

“Right…” she couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed. For a moment she had thought she wouldn’t need to go back home at the end of the day. She tried to shake the feeling, “So what happened once you and your parents got here?”

Sofia made a shooing motion at her son and he stood to attention. “Markus! You know what I want, pup! Get this old mama wolf a drink.”

Markus sighed and rolled his eyes, opening a liquor cabinet, and fixing his mother a small glass of scotch with a lot of ice, “Just a little one ma. It’s still early.”

“At my age, any time is a good time for a drink.” Sofia said, grinning at Jana, who seemed shocked that this was once the adorable little Norweigen girl she’d known, all those years ago.

“Good boy!” said Sofia, as Markus handed her the drink. She took a big sip and sighed in satisfaction, “There we go. Now where was I… Right, my parents and I were safe and were finally getting their act together.”

“Took them long enough.” Ella muttered under her breath before quickly covering her mouth, “I’m so sorry! It just slipped out!”

The old woman laughed again, “Don’t worry about it, dearie. Janny can tell you, the pair of us had thought and said much worse about those two back in the old days.” Sofia looked over at Jana, who blushed, remembering some of the very colorful vocabulary she had screamed into the pillows. In four different languages no less!

Sofia continued her story. “When me and Jana were alone, she was allowed to speak her mind. I learned all the best swear words from her whenever she was letting off steam!” She took another gulp of scotch, emptying the glass. “I don’t feel bad about it, they were terrible parents back then.”

Sofia sighed, as she stared into her empty glass. It sounded like she had needed to let off some steam with that rant. “But then…” she said, her voice cracking a little. “Everything changed when those fascist monsters started trying to break the doors down. We lost our home, our money... Nearly lost our lives, and we were the lucky ones…”

Jana held Sofia’s hand as she spoke. “It’s ok, Sofia... I’m here for you.”

The old woman smiled at her old friend, and carried on speaking. “After we escaped, and had settled down, Ma and Pa changed, and not just by becoming better parents. They felt they owed the tribe their lives and did everything they could to give back. I think they finally understood how vile and uncaring they had been, and wanted to make up for all those years of cruelty.”

Ella and Jana both looked up, attentively. This was a twist that they had not expected this story to take.

Sofia continued “When we first came to the village, it was warm and welcoming but rather… primitive. Just simple huts with torches for light. My parents, who were used to living in luxury, wanted more comfortable lives for those around them. They used what skills they had to help the tribe make some amazing quality of life improvements.” 

“Wow...” said Jana. “I thought the village had changed a lot since I was last here. But I never thought it would’ve been thanks to those two. How did they do it?”

“Well…” said Sofia, “They started by trying to help build houses but that didn’t get too far. They didn’t have the right equipment at first. It was their idea to have Rhea’s students travel to nearby towns to buy supplies from the outside world. Many of them still had connections and knowledge of the outside world that the wolves lacked. With those resources it wasn’t long till we had nicer homes and beds and electricity for everyone.”

“Buy supplies?” repeated Ella. “The pack makes money? How?”

“Oh, nothing too fancy.” said Markus. “We keep bees so we started by selling the honey. Then Grandpa began teaching the others how to make it into mead, which sold even better.”

“My mother also made and sold jewelry.” added Sofia. “She knew how to find amber in the woods, and make all kinds of necklaces and brooches. She passed that knowledge onto others, and we soon became very popular at farmers markets and craft fairs.”

Jana was almost speechless. “I can’t believe they did all that. The same people who neglected their child, and forced me to be their servant…”

Sofia nodded. “I understand, Janny. They knew that they could never undo the things they did, and they never once asked me to forgive them or to forget their actions.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “But I truly believe that they did change, and not just for the sake of redemption. They wanted to help others because they wanted to. Because, in the end, they were good people.”

Jana looked down at the floor. She didn’t quite know how to process this. Even 1000 years as a genie, could not prepare her for this.

Ella placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Jana? Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” She whispered. “I think I just need time to think about this.” She turned to Sofia. “Are they… Are your parents… nearby?”

Sofia nodded. “We planted two trees when their ashes were scattered. If you want, we could pay them a visit.”

Jana contemplated this, but shook her head after a moment of thinking. “No. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

Sofia smiled. “Don’t worry, Janny. I understand. They put you through a lot. You’ll need more time than most of us to think things over.” She slowly got up and gave the genie a warm hug, which Jana gratefully accepted.

After sitting back down, Sofia turned to Lupa, who had been listening to the conversation with great interest. “Lupa, sweetheart? Could you do me a favor?”

“Of course, Nana.” said the younger wolf, “What do you need?”

Sofia looked at Jana and Ella, who both seemed a little emotionally drained by the story. “Why don’t you take our guests down to the springs? I think Logan’s over there, and the girls could use some cheering up.”

“Logan?” said Jana. “Your grandson?”

“That’s the one!” said Lupa. “Come on, you two. I’ll explain along the way.”


	6. Pixies and Puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more cute fun with the wolves and a make over!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Brief descriptions of nudity.

Jana, Lupa and even Ella all gave the old wolf a hug before leaving the house. Sofia called after them. “I’ll come join you later! It’ll be good to iron the wrinkles out of my birthday suit!”  
“Mum!” groaned Markus.

The three young ladies laughed as they made their way into a different part of the woods from where they had entered the village. In the distance, Ella could hear the sound of splashing water, as the air grew steamy and humid.

“This place is wonderful Lupa.” Ella commented, looking around as they saw more of the community. “Does the town have a name?”

“Oh yes. We call it” her voice turned very canine with a series of short barks and growls. “But most new arrivals just call it the village until they get the hang of speaking wolf.”

“I… see… it’s a lovely name.” Ella tried her best to mimic the sounds and looked to Lupa for approval. 

“That was… pretty close…” she forced a smile, trying to be nice. 

Unable to contain herself, a giggling Jana leaned in and whispered “You just barked about wanting to kiss a duck.”

“Ah… I’ll stick with calling it the village then…”

They walked on in silence for a bit before Lupa took it on herself to break the silence, “So, Ella.” She said a little hesitantly, “What do you like to do for fun?”

Ella actually smiled, knowing from personal experience how awkward trying to start small talk like this could feel. “Well I paint and draw mostly. I actually make some money on commissions, but… well let’s just say I need to buy new supplies pretty often so I don’t get to keep much of the profits.”

Lupa paused in thought, “Huh… you know the more I hear about you, Ella, the more I feel like I know you from somewhere… “ she paused, hearing a small musical tone from her pocket and took out a simple old looking cellphone. She looked at the screen for a moment and her eyes went wide. She looked around the forest as if trying to find someone watching them.

“Is something wrong?” Jana asked, surprised by the sudden change in mood.

“Fine! Fine! Everything is fine!” said Lupa, in a tone of voice that indicated that something was almost certainly not fine. “I… Prospero just sent me a… well an interesting text.”

Ella and Jana looked at each other and smiled, both thinking the same thing; Lupa’s boyfriend had just sent a flirty message. What else could make this girl so flustered?

Suddenly, they heard a small squeaky bark, and Lupa looked up, happy to have a distraction. “Over here, Logan!” Lupa called. Her exclamation was answered by more barks and a scrambling in the bushes. A moment later, a tiny wolf pup came running up towards the three girls. He seemed to be stuck in a big baggy t-shirt with his head sticking out. His legs were caught in the fabric and it made the small canine trip several times on his way over.

“Logan, you goofball! You need to take your shirt off when you transform, or else this happens!” Lupa had meant to sound scolding, but it was ruined by laughing at the little guy's antics. “You’re not on camera, you moron! You can tone it down a little!”

The wolf pup barked, tail wagging as he came to a stop at the feet of the trio. Lupa turned to her friends to translate the barks, but Jana and Ella didn’t seem to care. The pair of them had both knelt down to get closer to the puppy, and were already fussing over how cute he was. “Oh gods! He’s adorable!!!” Ella was practically squealing.

She was a little surprised when the pup looked her in the face and actually winked at her. It was only then she remembered she was gushing over a young kid and not just a dog. To prove that point, the puppy began transforming.

The young wolf’s fur receded, and his ears and muzzle morphed into the shape of a human child’s face. His paws became hands and feet as he stood up, and his tail shrunk under the oversized shirt, which went down to his knees.

Soon, a boy of about six or seven years (possibly older) with long black hair and mismatched eyes stood in front of them. “Thanks, lady! Always glad to meet a fan! Tell me, which video is your favourite?”

Ella and Jana exchanged a confused look, before Lupa cut in. “They don’t know about the videos, Logan. They came here to visit Nana, and she asked me to show them the springs.”

At that moment, Lupa’s phone made another noise, prompting her to look at it. She sighed, before turning to Ella and Jana. “My boyfriend says he needs to talk to me. Sounds important, so I think I should go.” She then turned to her little brother. “Was mom with you?”

“Yep!” chirped Logan. “She’s by the main pool with Vilkas and Farkas. They were play-fighting again.”

“Can you show these two the way? I’ll be at Rhea’s place if you need to find me! Thanks Logan!” She put the phone away in a pouch and started running before the young boy could answer. Once a few feet away she quickly pulled her clothes off and massed them into a bundle, before transforming back into a wolf. Wolf-Lupa then picked up the bundle of clothes in her teeth, before speeding off into the woods.

Ella looked after the warrior, starting to doubt her original idea about the nature of those texts… Unless booty calls were serious business in this town… “So…” She asked, turning her attention back to the young boy. “You said you make videos?” 

“Make videos? I’m the star! A while back, we had the idea to start making a little more money for the tribe through YouTube videos! We set up a channel as a wildlife preserve, and all we had to do is upload video of wolf pups goofing off and we became a huge hit! And not to brag, but I’m definitely the most popular!” He was smiling wide with pride and practically glowing from excitement. “I’d show you some of the videos if mom let me have a cell phone. I got 4 million views for my last video, and all I had to do was wander around with an old boot stuck on my head!”

“Oh wow you really are famous!” Jana said, trying her best not to laugh in the young boy’s face at how precious that image was. “Was the shirt trick something for your next video?” As she talked, Ella had taken out her own phone and was frantically trying to find the video. It sounded too cute to miss, but she was heartbroken when she remembered she didn’t have a signal in this country.

He shrugged and motioned for the older girls to follow him. “Maybe. It’s funny and cute, you and Lupa were a great test crowd; but it feels too similar to the boot… I need something different.”

Unable to see the puppy videos herself, Ella’s brain was at work imagining the adorable possibilities, “It’s been done before, but have you tried looking at a camera like you’ve never seen it before?”

He thought and nodded, “Hmm, might be something there… You mean like we make it look like I come across a camera on the ground, and I get really close to it, sniffing and pawing at it? Oh yeah I could definitely work with that!”

“Oh wow!” said Ella, as they walked out into a massive clearing in the woods. All around them were ponds of steaming water in various rocky pools, some of which looked manmade, but others looked like they had been there for thousands of years.

Over in one of the pools sat two teenage boys, who Ella recognized as Farkas and Vilkas, now in their human forms. They didn’t look particularly happy to be there, almost as if they were on time out.

Sitting next to the pool, wearing a bathrobe and reading a book, sat Lupa’s mother, Laura. Seeing her in person made Ella realise just how much Lupa resembled her mother. Laura had to be in her mid-to-late forties at least, but she had the same muscular build as her daughter, that gave the impression of a strong, mature woman.

“Hey Mom!” yelled Logan, excitedly. “Look who I found! It’s those two girls who’re friends with Nana!”

Laura looked up and smiled when she saw the trio. “Welcome!” She called out, closing her book and standing up to greet them. “My sons here were just telling me about you. Nice of you to come and visit Sofia after all this time.”

As their mother turned her back to greet the guests, Farkas and Vilkas both tried to slowly move out of the pool.

“Don’t even think about it, you two!” said Laura, without looking. “You’re both gonna stay there until I say otherwise. We have guests, and I’m sure they don’t want to see you rolling about like cats stuck in a pillow case.”

Laura then looked down and smiled at Logan. “Do me a favour, Loganberry. Keep an eye on your brothers for me will you.”

“Sure thing!” cheered Logan. The boy began transforming, pausing halfway to remove his shirt. Once he was in full wolf form, the pup scampered over to the edge of the pool, where he began pacing back and forth, occasionally giving the two teenagers an adorable bark or growl.

Ella couldn’t help but feel a swell of joy inside her, as she watched the wolf pup trying to be intimidating. “Mrs. Olsen?” She said. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, your son is too freakin’ adorable!”

“Oh, I know! ” The she-wolf beamed over at her little pup. “He has so much energy and it’s great that he has such an immersive hobby!” She turned back to Ella. “Please, call me Laura. Mrs. Olsen is my mother-in-law.”

Jana looked around at the many pools in the area. “You’ve really done some good work with this place. Last time I was here, it was just a pile of rocks and water.”

Laura looked around her, smiling with pride “You’d know more about that than I would. Most of the significant work was done before I was born. Sometimes I feel spoiled that my generation was the first in the pack to have electricity.” She leaned in closer to the girls and whispered, “And if I’m spoiled you can only imagine how hard life is for that lot.” She said nodding her head at the boys in the pool.

“Mom! We heard that!” One of the twins called.

“Good!” She called back with a smirk.

Ella looked over at the twins, remembering what Lupa had said about them. How they liked to stay in wolf form as much as possible. “Hey, Laura?” she asked. “How come those two are in human form?”

“Hmm? Oh they’re in a timeout for a fight.” She said, looking up at the sky to check the progress of the sun. “Hmm just a bit longer…”

“What were they fighting over?” Jana asked, curious how much trouble they were in to be restricted from their preferred form.

Laura laughed. “Oh they weren’t fighting over anything. They just do it for fun!” She grinned as the sun went behind a cloud. “Ok boys! Timeout is over in 10 seconds! One! Two! Three!... Skip a few, 10! Time in!!!” 

Vilkas responded immediately, pouncing his brother before his transformation was finished. “Thata boy Vilkas! Great reaction speed! Farkas, don’t let this dictate match! You can still come back!”

Jana and Ella exchanged a look and then laughed. “So timeout was just a pause in the fight, not a punishment?”

Laura smiled and shook her head “Nah! The only reason I’d punish the twins is poor combat forms.” She turned her attention back to the wolves. “Farkas! Less biting, more swiping!” She called out.

The entire time the two larger wolves fought, Logan the wolf pup was scampering around the grappling pair, giving small out barks of encouragement.

Ella watched the two wolf brothers wrestle and claw at each other, before looking over at Laura. “Is it really a good idea to encourage them to fight like this? Won’t they get hurt?”

“Don’t worry, Ella.” said Jana. “This is perfectly normal for young wolves such as them. They’re pretty sturdy, and while it might not look like it, they know not to go too far when fighting.” There was a sense of nostalgia in her voice as she spoke. “Back when I served them, Sofia’s parents used to take her to dogfights in the village. They said it was to help her train, but she just ended up befriending all the dogs.”

Ella breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that this story was going somewhere dark, but she was relieved to be reminded of how innocent Sofia had been as a child.

“Ah yes!” said Laura. “She’s told us that story before. When the Nazis came, she later used her skills to convince the german guard dogs to turn on their masters. Those krauts didn’t stand a chance.”

Ella blinked in surprise. Then she, Jana and Laura all burst out laughing.

Suddenly, Ella paused and looked up when she heard other voices laughing with them. From up amid the trees she saw several multi-colored glowing balls of light appearing one by one. The laughter seemed to be coming from their direction.

Ella reached out and gripped Jana’s arm “Jana… is that what I think it is?” Her voice trembling with excitement.

“You know it, girl!” Jana smiled wide as the giggling lights began flying down towards them.

“Good morning, Fae Folk!” Laura called out, as if she was calling to her neighbors across a fence.

“Fairies… real fairies!” Ella couldn’t help her voice getting higher in her excitement.

“Real fairies, as opposed to what?” One of the little voices called out, flying very close to Ella.

It was a surprise to see them so close, and even more surprising to see that the tiny glowing woman with dragonfly-like wings was stark naked. Just how many naked bodies was Ella going to see today? Was the world trying to make her blush to death?!

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything! I’ve just never seen a fairy before!” Ella said, trying and failing to keep from getting too flustered. “Jana told me that you used your magic to make me pretty. Thank you so much!”

Soon, four different fairies were fluttering around her giggling, “Make you pretty?” One of them repeated. “Darling, you are already so beautiful!”

“We didn’t even need to do much.” said another. “Just a few tweaks, here and there…”

“Perhaps, my dear…” said a male fairy, who moved with the same grace and delicacy as as female companions, “Maybe you’d like to see what we can do if we really cut loose?”

Ella barely had time to grin and nod excitedly, before the four pixies began to flutter in circles around her, leaving trails of sparkles as they went. They were quickly joined by more fairies, until the air around Ella was filled with pixie dust, all different colours.

She felt herself being lifted into the air, as gravity seemed to cease around her. Ella felt a tingling sensation all over her body, as the world began to spin, and bright colours swam in front of her eyes. 

She couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but it was one of the most peaceful, yet also euphoric sensations Ella had ever felt. She closed her eyes and basked in the warm glow of the fae magic, and listened to the fluttering of wings and tiny voices laughing.

Gradually, the sensation faded as the fairies dispersed and Ella felt her feet land gently on the ground. 

She opened her eyes and saw Jana and Laura staring back at her. The two of them looked utterly bewildered, and Jana was blushing a little. Even Vilkas and Farkus had stopped their fight to stare at Ella, and Logan poked his head up from behind his brothers to get a better look.

Ella could barely bring herself to look. Taking a deep breath she glanced down at her body. She was clad in a beautiful sleeveless sunflower pattern dress, along with a pair of incredibly cute sandals. Not only that but she could see her hair was longer, her skin was smooth and her nails were painted a soft pink!

“Oh gods… Oh gods!… Does anyone have a mirror?!” She asked equal parts nervous and excited by what she might see.

Jana waved a hand, and a large standing mirror materialised next to her. Ella rushed forward to look.

The beautiful girl staring back at her from the mirror took Ella’s breath away. She looked stunning! The dress fitted her perfectly, and her hair was now down to her shoulders; neatly brushed and styled. On top of everything else, the fairies had even applied makeup. 

“That’s not possible…” Ella whispered. She moved her arms and winked at the reflection just to make sure. “It’s me… is that really me?” Her voice cracked as she put her hand to the glass. She saw and felt the tears welling up in her eyes. “Gods no!” She said, trying to hold the tears back. “I’m gonna ruin this makeup!”

Jana walked over and held Ella’s hand tight. “Ella! It’s ok. That makeup is magic, it shouldn’t run. You’ve held in too much for so long. If you need to cry, then please just cry.” She held her arms open wide for her friend.

The dark haired girl hesitated for only half a second before dashing into the warm and safe embrace of the genie and began crying immediately, “I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD EVER FEEL SO BEAUTIFUL!!!” Her entire body shook with happy sobs and tears were soaking Jana’s shirt, but Ella didn’t care. Nor did she care that half the Olsen family was watching her have this outburst and the other half could probably hear her! This was the happiest she had ever felt in her life and she wasn’t going to keep those emotions inside any more.

During this outburst, the twins quietly snuck away, but Laura and Logan stayed close by. Ella only stopped her happy sobs when she heard little Logan whispering to his mother.

“That’s so cool, mom!” said the wolf-boy, as he shifted back to human form. “She was pretty before, but now she’s super pretty!” Logan then turned red, as he realised he was stark naked. He quickly shifted back into wolf form, to preserve his dignity.

Seeing the little wolf blush, after hearing his comments, was enough to make Ella laugh. 

She wiped her eyes and checked the mirror, happy to see nothing had smudged or streaked. “Thank you Logan. That’s very nice of you to say.”

The pup gave a happy bark, before looking up at his mother and tilting his head a little.

Laura smiled, and turned to the girls. “Logan’s asking if either of you want to have a dip in the springs. I think he just wants you two to stick around.”

The girls smiled at each other, especially as the puppy covered his face with both his front paws from his mother embarrassing him. Ella spoke first, “I’d love to stay for a swim, but I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“Oh that’s no problem!” Laura’s waves off the concern. We’re all naked in the spring anyways!”

This didn’t do much to help Ella’s concerns, and she blushed as she responded “Yes but… Me and my body don’t usually get along like… this.” She gestured to her body in the dress to try to illustrate her point. When it seemed Laura wasn’t following the explanation, even tilting her head like her puppy son, Ella tried to be a bit more direct. “I really don’t like my body. I especially don’t like it naked.”

It seemed to finally click in Laura’s head, but Logan gave another bark to show he didn’t get it “I’ll explain when you’re older Loganberry.”

One of the fairies flew by Ella then, “Hey!” She called, “If a bathing suit would help, we can get you another outfit!”

“You could?” Ella said excitedly. She looked down at the dress she was already wearing. It almost felt foolish to turn down a second free outfit, “Ok then. I’ll give it a try. Just nothing too crazy please!” No matter how good the fairies made her look she wasn’t ready for anything with a thong!

The fairy whistled and called over a few of her friends. For the second time that day, Ella was surrounded in light and lifted off the ground. This time the process went much faster and Ella found herself in a black polkadot one piece with a small pleated skirt around her waist. She smiled happily and gave a little twirl. “This is perfect! Thank you again!”

“No problem sweetie!” The fairy called. She pointed and Ella saw her new dress was hanging from a tree branch close by. “Enjoy the outfits cutie! The makeup will keep for a few more hours. Have fun everyone!” The tiny winged woman blew Ella, Jana and even Laura a kiss before flying up back into the trees giggling.

“Well… I guess I’m staying to swim!” Ella chuckled. 

Laura smiled and took off her robe. “Wonderful! Hope in!” She said moving into one of the pools before Ella even had a chance to blush.

Ella froze as an idea came to her.Jana was going to go swimming too! That meant Jana could be naked in front of her any moment now! Trying her best to not let her face turn the color of Jana’s hair, Ella found herself thinking “Please wear a swimsuit! Please wear a swimsuit! Please wear a swimsuit!!” 

Finally she turned her attention back to Jana. “Do you want to come in too?” She froze, seeing that Jana was in fact in a swimsuit… a bright red bikini… Gods this might be worse than her being completely naked! How was this somehow hotter?! Maybe there was a cold water spring somewhere she could dunk herself in….

“Wait for us!” They looked and saw naked Markus and wolf Sofia coming down the path towards them.

Having had just about enough of the hot naked lycanthropes, Ella quickly jumped into the nearest pool before she embarrassed herself. Jana laughed and joined her, the rest of the family coming too. Puppy Logan got a running start before jumping for the water and doggy paddled around the pool with his little head sticking above the water. Even the twins joined the fun, letting out a loud howl that Ella assumed (correctly) translated to “cannon ball!” before they both jumped into the deep end with a massive splash.

After laughing at the teens' antics, Ella finally allowed herself to relax and enjoy the feeling of the hot water easing pains and muscles she didn’t know she had. She sat beside Jana, resting against the stone walls of the hot spring and let out a contented sigh as she looked about her. 

Here she was, dressed like a girl in public, with a naked couple, an excited puppy, an elderly wolf, two werewolf teens having a splash fight and a beautiful girl by her side. Yet no matter how bizarre and unbelievable any of those things seemed, she had never felt more welcome, safe and at peace in her life. She smiled to herself, letting out a little yawn. The heat was making her drowsy. Without even thinking, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep against something soft…

Jana sat perfectly still as the sleeping girl snuggled up against her shoulder. She was surprised by the action but didn’t dare push Ella off her. Instead she gave a little smile and wrapped an arm around her to pull her mistress closer, fully aware of the entire Olsen family watching, and Sofia smiling so happily that it could be seen even in her canine form.  
____________________________________________________________________________

Several hours later, Ella woke wrapped in a blanket under a tree. Looking around her she saw she was still close to the springs and tried to sit up. Only then did she notice the weight on her chest and looked down to see Logan, still in wolf form, curled up asleep on top of her.

Ella smiled at the little guy, but quickly realised she was in a tricky situation; she was unable to move without waking the adorable pup from his nap. She looked around, trying to see if there was anyone nearby who could help.

It was at that point that Ella noticed Jana, lying on a nearby rock, still in her bikini. “Hey there, sleepyhead.” giggled Jana, “Having fun?”

“Jana!” Ella blushed, before looking back at Logan to make sure her outburst didn’t wake him. The wolf-boy stirred a little, but carried on sleeping.

“Need help with that?” said Jana. She strolled over to Ella, and gently lifted the puppy off of her. Jana clearly had the magic touch (literally), as Logan kept snoring as the genie girl held him.

“Thanks.” said Ella, who was now able to sit up. “He’s just so precious, isn’t he?”

“He is.” Jana chuckled, petting the kid’s fuzzy head. “He seems to have taken a real liking to you. The little guy wouldn’t stop talking about you while you were asleep.”

Ella couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her looks if she ended up being this little cutie’s first crush. “How long was I asleep?”

“About a half hour in the water, but I carried you out after that so you wouldn’t prune up. You’ve been asleep under the tree about two hours.” Jana gently set the puppy on the ground. He started to whimper a little, but stopped when Ella reached over to pet him.

“I was out that long? Guess I needed the nap.” Ella sighed and looked around her. “This place is pretty wonderful Jana. Almost wish we could just stay here… of course we have to go back for your lamp if nothing else.” Her entire body tensed at the thought of going back to that house.

Jana was also worried about going back, not for herself, but for her friend who finally had a chance to be the woman she wanted to be.“We can stay here as long as you want Ella.” said Jana. “Markus and Laura just went to get a picnic together for us.” 

“A picnic sounds like a great idea” Ella said, looking about the woods to try and take in everything, knowing they couldn’t stay much longer. “You know… I toyed with the idea of an underwater scene of my next bedroom mural. After today I think I have to do another forest.”

Jana was going to start venting again about how horrible the destruction of her art was, but the adult wolves then returned, so the genie kept the outburst inside. 

“We’re back!” Markus called, carrying a big basket. Wolf Sofia was holding a large blanket in her teeth and Laura had several glass bottles of chilled Meade, spring water and juice.

“Thanks for letting us stay for lunch.” Jana stood up to help spread out the blanket while Ella ducked behind a bush to change out of her bathing suit and back to the new dress.

Sofia reverted to her human form once she had a comfortable place to sit. “I insisted Janny. Had to have at least one meal with you before you left. It’s been 80 years since the last time. Who knows how long it might be till the next one!” She chuckled to herself, “Another 80 years and I might start to actually look old!”

Jana smiled at her friend, but didn’t laugh. “I promise I’ll be back soon Sofia. This won’t be my last visit.” The old friends embraced each other while Ella helped Markus set up the plates.

With the basket open and the smells filling the air, Logan yawned and woke from his nap. He quickly reverted to human form and pulled on his big t-shirt, “Do I smell Nana’s cookies in there?!”

Laura ruffled his hair “Eat your lunch first Loganberry, then you can have a cookie.”

“Just one?” He pleaded and pouted, sitting down between Ella and Jana. He perked up a little though when his dad handed him two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the bread cut into little stars. 

“Ella, Jana, what would you like? We have pulled pork, deer-bacon BLT, tuna salad and grilled vegetables.” Laura said, taking a BLT for herself and handing her husband a grilled vegetable.

Ella and Jana couldn’t help but stare a little at the adult werewolf eating grilled zucchini and peppers. 

“What? I’m 55!” said Markus, unwrapping his food, “At my age, I try to limit my red meat to when it’s a full moon.”

“Whimp!” Sofia called with a laugh, “Come on Laura! You know what I want.”

The she-wolf sighed and smiled, pulling a special sandwich out of the back of the pack, “Here you go, Sofia. Steak tartare with extra garlic and no sauce.”

This got another look from the girls to which Laura shrugged “You try getting her to stop doing what she wants.”

They both shrugged as well and accepted pulled pork on warm sourdough bread paired with fresh grapes, homemade kettle chips and a glass each of very sweet Meade that was stronger than most wines. It was all delicious, with everything either home-grown or homemade. All was made even better, with the large plate of peanut butter cookies for dessert.

“Is the rest of the family not joining us?” Jana asked between mouthfuls of barbecue.

“Nah,” Sofia answered with a mouth full of meat. “The twins like to hunt for their lunch, and Lupa and Karl are doing something with Rhea. Something seems to have spooked that new kid. Not sure what.”

“Lupa’s boyfriend? I think that’s my fault.” Ella admitted. “He took one look at me and went running.”

“Or it could have been me.” Jana added, “He uses magic, I’m a magical creature. Maybe I gave him some bad juju?”

“Either way, that seems a bit odd.” Sofia muttered. “Oh well!” She reached over, grabbed a handful of cookies from the platter and tossed them over Logan’s head. “Think fast kid!”

The young boy was quick enough to catch one in his mouth before grabbing the others with his hands before running off into the woods with them “Thanks Nana!” He called once he had swallowed the first cookie.

Sofia, Ella and Jana were all laughing too much to hear the parents scolding both the young boy and old woman. 

“Mom! Don’t do that! You know how he is after too much sugar!” Markus said as Laura went running off after the truant puppy.

“Oh calm down, pup.” chuckled the elder wolf. “I’m just following the golden rule of all grandparents! Spoil them rotten, fill them with sugar and send them home!”

A few moments later, Laura returned in wolf form holding puppy Logan by the scruff of his fuzzy neck in her teeth. The cookies were all gone and the pup was barking happily, his tail wagging so fast it was a blur. 

They stayed together for about another hour, talking, sharing stories and trying their best to keep the hyper wolf pup from going crazy. By the time Logan had worn himself down and was laying next to his momma with a tummy ache (both of them still in wolf form), the sun was starting to dip behind the trees.

Ella didn’t want to leave but she knew that Karen would lock them out of the house if they weren’t home by nightfall. “I’m sorry to say it, Jana, but I think we need to get going.”

Logan walked over whimpering and pouting up at Ella. “I’m sorry Logan!” She couldn’t resist something so cute and picked the pup and hugged him tight. “I don't want to go, but I have to!”

Jana got in on the hug, putting an arm around the girl and the puppy. “Hey it’s ok! We’ll be back before you know it. This isn’t goodbye for either of you.” Jana shook Markus by the hand and hugged Laura goodbye before giving Sofia a longer hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Goodbye for now, young pup.” 

Sofia gave a chuckle and kissed the genie on her cheek “Stay safe till next time, Janny…. Both of you, please stay safe.” It was like the old woman could sense a storm coming.

Jana nodded. She walked back to Ella who had finally put down Logan. “Tell Lupa goodbye for us. We’ll try to spend some time with her and Rhea next time. Goodbye everyone!”

“Bye! See you soon!” Ella waved and stood with Jana. The genie snapped her fingers and the pair disappeared from the forest with a loud crack and a puff of smoke.

The smoke had barely faded, when Lupa came running into the clearing. She ran up to her bewildered family. “Dad! Where’s Ella?” She panted out, “You are not going to believe this!”


	7. Escape the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Jana return home to an unpleasant surprise.
> 
> Content Warning! The first half of this chapter contains transphobia, misgendering, parental abuse and dead naming.

When Ella opened her eyes they had left the forests of Canada and had returned to the scattered trees at the edge of her neighborhood. “Well… here we go again.” She muttered to herself. One wonderful afternoon of magic, euphoria and playing with puppies and the world was back to being terrible.

As they started walking, Jana tried to think positive. “Hey it’s ok! I’m sure Karen can’t be as bad as last night every day.”

Ella shook her head, “No, you’re right. Half the time, she’s worse. I’m sure she’ll have found, like, a sliver of egg shell that missed the garbage can from breakfast and she’ll make me wash the kitchen floors before and after dinner as punishment.” 

“Well if she does, you’ll have me to help.”Jana said, smiling at her friend. “Hell, if they don’t watch you do it, we can just use magic and skip the whole thing.”

“Thanks Jana. I think this house might actually be bearable with you…” Ella stopped mid-sentence. The Grant house was in sight, and there was a large pile of trash out at the curb. The girl’s face fell. “She didn’t… She didn’t!” Ella took off at a run to close the distance and found just what she had feared. All of her art supplies had been thrown out on the street. Bags stuffed with brushes and rollers, a trash can full of sketchbooks that seem to have had a can of black paint poured over top of them, even her easels and canvases had been broken into pieces. Ella stood looking at the carnage, her entire body quivering with anger and disgust. 

Unknown to either girl, Jerry had been watching from the kitchen window. He saw Jana and a pretty young girl with dark hair walking towards the house. It took him a few moments to realize that the girl was his own child! It wasn’t just the dress or the longer hair, but he had not seen Ella looking so happy in years! Then he saw her face fall. The horror and anger on her face as she ran towards the house.

“Honey… They’re back.” He called nervously into the living room just as the girls slammed the door open and went running into the house, making a direct line to the basement to see how much damage had been done.

“What… was that.. he was wearing…?!” Karen said in a growl, as she got up from her seat and slowly followed the girls to the basement door.

Ella ran into her room, taking the steps two at a time. She was prepared for something horrible, to see her hard work ruined yet again, but she still hadn’t seen… this coming. She entered her room, and had to hold back a scream when she saw what her mother had done.

Instead of the usual thick base coat of solid white or black covering her art, the walls, and even the ceiling, had been covered with an ancient discolored wallpaper featuring cracked and faded pictures of sporting equipment; clearly a pattern for infant boys. It had been done very sloppily and slap dash. Creases and tears were all over the walls and the room still reeked of the liberally applied paste. The glue had even dripped down the walls and from the ceiling in some places, ruining some of the furniture that Karen had decided to let Ella keep. Her art was gone, her blank space to create was gone, her books were gone, everything under her bed was gone... 

Ella was briefly broken out of her shock, when she ran to check the closet. To her relief, the magic lamp was still there, hidden behind all the boring old boys' clothes.

They heard the door at the top of the stairs open. “Do you like the new design? More personality than the blank slate look don’t you think?” Karen began making her way down the stairs. She was about to make a comment about how much the room had opened up with everything she had gotten rid of when she got her first proper look at Ella. “...As if you weren’t enough of a disappointment as a son… You had the nerve to walk around the neighborhood wearing that!”

It was only in this moment Ella or even Jana had realized Ella was still in the dress the fairies had gifted her. It had felt so natural, so right, that neither had thought to change. Karen continued as she reached the bottom of the stairs, “I searched your room expecting to find piles of bras and underwear you wear to get off. I was relieved to not find any, only to see you dressed like this for all the world to see, like the sick twisted deviant you are!” 

“Don’t you dare talk to her that way, you bitch!” Jana stepped between the screaming mother and the daughter on the edge of tears. She tried to channel her Viking war face. It was all she could do to stop from turning this woman into a cockroach.

Karen met the gaze, surprised by the intensity, but matching it. “You stay out of this if you want to keep that room.”

“What kind of crazy person would want to stay in a house with someone that treats their own family like this! Toss me out! I don’t care! But you will not speak to her like that!”

Karen looked ready to slap Jana, “I don’t have to listen to you. Get out. I have to talk to my son.”

When Jana refused to leave she began screaming horrible things at both girls. Ella was secretly glad that she allowed herself to black out when it began. She only caught snippets of Karen’s poisonous words. “Freak!” “Sicko!” “No son of mine!” Many repetitions of her dead name, and so much worse...

“Are you even listening to me, you broken down queen! Take that stupid wig off and pay attention!” She broke Ella out of the relative safety of the black out by grabbing Ella’s hair and pulling with all her might, only getting a scream from the girl.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Jana shouted and Karen felt a powerful shock to her hand and let go. The older woman looked at her hand in wonder, then to the girl rubbing her hair and sobbing in pain and mortification. The hair was real? But how? It was so much longer than last night!

Her mind adjusted quickly to the confusion. Just a static shock and hair extensions connected to the real hair. Yes that had to be it. “Take off those clothes, fix your hair and wash off that trashy makeup. Come up stairs when you’re back to normal and we will continue this.” She gave one last glare at the pair and stomped back up the stairs, slamming the door behind her.

Once they were alone, Ella finally allowed herself to cry. Neither said anything. Both girls just held each other tight, Ella letting her grief out, Jana keeping her anger in.

Only when the sobs had died down and Ella had regained her breath did Jana speak. “No more. This is the last time that monster will dare speak to you that way. I am getting you out of here tonight Ella!”

She was surprised by the passion in the genie’s voice, “But… but where would we go? I have no real friends, no family besides my brother and I don’t know where to find him…”

“What does that matter right now? Anywhere is surely better than this! If you just used one wish you-“

“No! No wishes!” Ella cut in. For the briefest moment Jana remembered her time with the Olsen family and feared Ella might be hoarding wishes too, but those fears were quickly destroyed. “I made you a promise Jana. I promised to give you all the freedom that our time together allowed. I can’t… I can’t even use one wish… it means I’d be so much closer to losing you…”

The girls were quiet for a few long moments before Jana spoke. “You… you’ve been saving your wishes so I wouldn’t have to go?”

Ella nodded and spoke softly, “I haven’t had a friend in a long time either Jana. I liked you. I loved spending time with you…” she felt she could have said more but she stopped herself. “I don’t want to lose that.”

“Odin’s eye…” Jana swore under her breath. Only Sofia had ever treated her with such kindness. She couldn’t bear to see a girl so sweet in so much pain… “Ella, I think I should be honest with you. There’s one quirk to my magic I haven’t mentioned yet that most don’t know about…. there is a way to get more wishes. In fact right now you are up to eight wishes and counting.”

“Eight?” Ella repeated with a sniffle “But how? I haven’t done anything.”

Jana took hold of Ella by both shoulders, “But you have! You’ve done something that no other master of mine has done since little Sofia. You were kind to me. You thought of my happiness over your own! Each selfless act towards me has earned you another wish… Can you see why the stories never talk about this rule? Most masters treat genies like slaves, they don’t deserve any more than what we have to give them… and generally we don’t tell them about the rule because we want to get the job done and away from them at all costs...But you are different...” 

Jana began to tear up as she spoke, “You had the magic to do anything in the universe right in the palm of your hands, but you didn’t use it; first for my happiness, then for fear of losing me as a friend…” her voice cracked with emotion “I haven’t felt so human in decades Ella! And I love you for it, but please make a wish! I want to help you but this is the only way I can! Please stop suffering for my sake!”

Ella was quiet for a long moment, before wrapping her arms tightly around her friend. She spoke softly in Jana’s ear. “Ok… ok Jana. We’ll get out of here. Tonight.”

The genie smiled and squeezed her a little tighter. “Get what things you want to take with you together and meet me outside. You can make your wish there… I’ll distract the dragon woman while you get ready.” She said distract, but she really meant scream at. Jana wasn’t going to turn down a chance to chew out this bitch and slam the door in her face! Karen deserved so much worse than that, but until karma or the gods caught up with her, Jana would give her a taste of fear…

____________________________________________________________________________

A moment later Jana was making her way back upstairs. Sure she could just teleport them both out of the basement, but why miss an opportunity for something like this? 

The genie hesitated in the hall, hearing voices from the living room. “Karen don’t you think this is going a little too far? I know we never liked his art as a career but I always thought it was harmless as a hobby.” Jerry seemed hesitant to disagree with her even on this level.

“We’re his parents. We have to be firm and stamp it out altogether or he’ll up some…” she paused trying to think of words strong even to get her point across, “Some good for nothing sponge on society!”

“But it’s the only thing that makes her happy-“ he realized his Freudian slip the moment it was out.

“Don’t you start on that garbage too!” She growled out in a way that would have impressed the wolves.

“Excuse me.” Jana called attention to herself and entered the room. “Mister Grant,” she nodded with a modicum of respect at Jerry, “Karen .” She smiled at her light insolence making the woman’s eye twitch. “I’m sad to say I won’t be staying with you any longer. The atmosphere in this house isn’t good for my state of mind.”

Karen glared at the red head, “Whatever. Take your money and get out.” She pulled out the check from the night before, balled it up and chucked it at the redhead.

“I plan to.” She said with a wide smile, catching the crumpled up check out of the air before it hit her, “And I’m taking Ella with me.”

“Like hell you are! My son isn’t going to have anything to do with you and your pagan nonsense!”

Jana just continued to smile “Oh yes, my gods are nonsense. Do tell me more about your friend, the magic carpenter that bleeds wine. But putting our beliefs aside, what can you do to stop her? She’s over age. She has only stayed this long because she had nowhere else to go! But now she has me, and you can’t stop us from going!” 

As Jana continued she grew angrier, and louder, daring for Karen to even think about interrupting her. “I’ve seen my fair share of the worst of humanity. Pride and greed, death and blood, bigots and monsters of every size and shape. Even amid all of them, you are one of the worst human beings I have ever met.” Her eyes momentarily glowed with power, “And if you ever lay a finger on Ella again you will regret it the rest of your fake pretentious life!” The room shook with the sound of thunder and only then did Jana calm down, conscious that she was overplaying her hand.

She took a deep breath, calming herself down. “Eat shit and die trash.” On that note, Jana flipped them off, turned her back on the stunned couple, and stormed out of the room. She was pleasantly surprised to hear Jerry saying “What did she mean lay a finger on her?” before she slammed the door. Even after witnessing something he couldn’t explain, his big takeaway was concern for his child. Maybe there was hope for that one.

Jana found Ella waiting for her by the garbage pile of her old possessions with no luggage but a small backpack and the dress on her back. “Sorry to keep you waiting. You now have 9 wishes for letting me do that.”

“You’ll have to tell me what you said later. I just want to get out of here…” she took one look at the house and saw Karen glaring at the pair through the window. Very deliberately, Ella spat on the yard and turned her back on her mother, walking away from the house that had been her own personal hell.

They got a few feet from the house when Jana stopped “Oh crap… you grabbed the lamp right?” Ella’s frightened expression was enough to show she had forgotten it. “It’s alright. I can fix it.” Jana spoke quickly to calm her down and snapped her fingers.  
____________________________________________________________________________

Back in the house, Karen was avoiding her husband’s questions. She went down to the basement room just to see if anything else had been taken. Maybe they could claim the pair of freaks had robbed them. The cops could lock the ginger up and bring her son back.

Unfortunately for Karen, there was very little missing. One thing that did stand out to her was a strange lamp sitting on the floor. She was reaching for the lamp, trying to think where the boy could have bought this piece of junk... when the lamp disappeared in a quick blast of light before her eyes.

Any other day, Karen would have thought she was going crazy… but today… A strange girl from nowhere, a new look for the freak boy, the shock, the eyes, the sudden thunder, and now a lamp… the pieces were forming a seemingly impossible picture… but maybe...

____________________________________________________________________________

The lamp appeared in Jana’s arms, neither girl aware of how close they had been to disaster. “Much better. Lead the way!” Jana called enthusiastically.

They walked in silence for a moment before Ella started laughing. She laughed long and hard for a while before she offered any explanation, “I’m sorry. It’s just funny to me! I’m finally out of that snake pit, truly free for the first time in my life… and I have no idea where I’m going or what to do first!” Her voice was already cracking with joyous laughter before she had even finished her sentence.

The laugh was so happy that Jana couldn’t help joining in. After a moment the genie spoke “Well if that’s your concern I think I have a suggestion. We need a place to stay, at least for a while right? I know just the place.”

Now the genie walked ahead of her master. To her surprise Ella found herself being led back to the huge house with the estate sale from the day before, a for sale sign in the front yard.

“This house?” Ella asked, looking up at the huge aging eyesore, “A bit much for two isnt it?”

Jana smirked “It was a bit much for one dirty old man and a genie left in the empty wine cellar. But it’s a huge space, it’s available, and we don’t need to create something new here. We could even keep the outside looking like this so we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”

Ella nodded in thought. It was a bit too close to her old home, but it would serve their purposes. “Alright then… wish time I guess…” she tried to mentally prepare herself for what this might do, “I wish that I owned this house and that we could do whatever we want with the inside .”

“Coming right up!” Jana cracked her fingers as if preparing the magic before pausing. “What WE want?” She repeated as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Of course. As long as you are here, this is your home too.” Ella smiled but couldn’t help but blush a little.

“Well now… by being the nicest girl on earth you just got yourself a free mansion! Earn a wish, use a wish! Still got 9!” Jana laughed before pausing again. “Oh! Decor! Ella… this might sound odd but… could I please take a look in your head for art and design ideas?”

“... I’m sorry what?”

“I know it’s weird. But you won’t feel a thing and I promise to limit myself to art and color schemes.” Jana even crossed her heart to emphasize the promise.

“Well… ok then.” Ella had to admit having a pretty girl inside her mind was an unnerving thought… she really hoped Jana didn’t look too deep. Especially because of some NSFW imagery her brain tried to present her with after the thought “pretty girl inside her” passed through her head.

Jana gently put a hand to Ella’s forehead and held it there for a second. “.... Aaaaaand got it! That should do it for a rough draft.”

“That’s it?” She really didn’t feel a thing from that.

“That’s it! Time for me to get to work!” Jana snapped her fingers with a loud crack. A bright light flashed inside the windows of the house and from behind the high fenced back yard. She waved her hand and the deed appeared from the air. “One house, purchased in my name and transferred to yours, fully paid off and furnished! A proper castle for a princess!” Jana bowed playfully as she handed a beet red Ella the papers. “Shall we explore your new kingdom?” She held out her arm, which Ella took, and led her through the magically unlocked door.

Ella was immediately surprised once through the door. Though the outside hadn’t changed, the inside was fresh smelling and clean with new carpets on the floor and fresh white paint on the walls.”Here we have the foyer,” Jana spoke like a tour guide “I kept this simple for now so company isn’t overwhelmed by style right away, but you can paint the walls to your liking any time.”

She led her into a spacious kitchen with a huge fridge, a ton of fun or useful gadgets, a collection of cookbooks on a shelf below a window, and a small table with four chairs. “Fully stocked gourmet kitchen complete with little breakfast nook.” The kitchen walls were painted with a bright colorful orchard of fruit trees.

“This is amazing! And… familiar…” Ella moved closer to the walls to examine the trees “This… these are from my room! The painting I did last year!”

Jana nodded “It seemed the most fitting for in here.”

“But how…” Ella couldn’t express how happy she was to see this piece she thought lost to her.

The genie smiled and wiggled her hands in the air, making them spark and glitter “Magic Ella. Magic and your own impressive imagination and skill.”

Ella could have been more than happy with this kitchen and a cot to sleep in, but there was much more to see. “Next we have the dining room, which I don’t think we’ll use much outside of maybe a party or board games.” Jana quickly walked past the large table set with crystal candlesticks. The living room was much more Ella’s style. The walls had been done with one of her favorite paintings: a completely underwater world featuring fish of all shapes sizes, sunken treasure and a mermaid perched on a rock at the very top of the waterline. The furniture matched the paint work in colors of blues, greens, and weathered wood. The thing that was most out of place was a huge flatscreen tv and a fully loaded media cabinet full of games, movies and systems.

“That’s mostly for me.” Jana gestured at the media center a bit sheepishly. “I’ve played a ton of video games and watched every movie known to man while stuck in the lamp. It’s a hobby that grows on you… also I’m really looking forward to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Can’t miss that.” They laughed and continued onward. 

“Next we have the backyard,” Jana led her through a back door. “Nice high fences to give us privacy, some gardens for me to work in and-“

“A pool!” Ella cried out happily, fighting the urge to jump right into the water, especially since there seemed to be a beautiful mosaic of another mermaid along the bottom that she wanted a closer look at.

“Dang right we have a pool! I wanted to give you a reason to wear that cute bathing suit again.” Jana covered her mouth and blushed when she realized how forward she had just sounded. Ella didn’t respond to the comment, only answering with her own deep blush.

“Let’s… let’s keep going.” Jana motioned for them to go back inside and led Ella to a basement that had changed from a dark hole to store unwanted things to a personal gym with a bright vibrant beach scene on the walls. “After years stuck down here as a dusty nick-knack I wanted to give this space lots of light and energy.”

“Good choice . Not that you need to use any of this stuff.” Ella said, inspecting a treadmill.

“It’s true, with magic I can look however I want.”

“No… no I meant it because your body is perfect. It’d be criminal to change anything.” Her voice cracked from nerves as she tried to be smooth and flirt back, only making her blush harder.

Jana smiled, her cheeks very pink. “You are too sweet Ella!” 

They returned upstairs and Jana took Ella to the second floor. “Here we have the guest room, my room, the library and studio. The master… the mistress bed room is on the 3rd floor. Which would you like to see first?”

Ella wanted to playfully ask to see Jana’s bedroom, but the comment was cut short “Well I- I HAVE MY OWN STUDIO!? Which is it!”

She ran and began checking behind doors finding a bathroom, the spare bedroom, a linen closet and the library before stopping. “It can’t be….” She walked into the library. Among the bookcases and comfy chairs, there was an electric fireplace with a bizarre painting of a tiny island out in a vast ocean hanging above the mantle.The picture was a strange blend of clashing colors that each stood out as distinctly as if made from shards of stained glass, but it was still clear what the artist had tried to create. “Old Nana’s painting…” Ella said after a moment of silence, “how is this here?”

“Well when I was in your head I tried to find favorite paintings to decorate the house with. That… interesting piece kept coming up.” Jana said, unable to hide that this painting wouldn't have been her first choice for decoration.

Ella laughed a bit, “Yeah, interesting is one word for it… It belonged to my dad’s grandmother. Rich old woman with odd taste. She kept this piece of work in her office. As a kid I was the only one who liked it. In fact my very first painting I can remember doing I had tried to replicate it. When she died I asked if I could have it. It was the only thing of hers I wanted. Everyone was fine with that… until they took it off the wall and saw from the artist’s signature on the back it was a rare original worth thousands! Suddenly the odd painting that the small child wanted for sentiment was the hidden treasure the entire family was fighting over!” 

She started laughing and hugged Jana tightly, “I know it’s strange but it’s a great conversation piece! Thank you so much Jana! It means so much to finally have it in my own home!”

Jana smiled and hugged Ella back, looking at the picture again over the girl’s shoulder, “You know… I think it’s already growing on me.” She chuckled and took Ella by the hand, “Come on, let me show you the studio now.” 

They walked hand in hand into the room next door. It was more than a studio though; it was also a gallery. Along the walls were dozens of Ella’s paintings, hung and framed with a little placard below them. Jana felt Ella’s grip tighten on her hand as they walked through the testament to her art. “You… you saved the ones Karen destroyed?” Her voice cracked as she recognized pictures that had been broken and torn in the trash just minutes before.

“Of course I did Ella. Your work is wonderful! I couldn’t bear to see any of it ruined.” She led Ella through a door on the far side of the gallery and into the true studio. Ella couldn’t help but start crying again. It was a simple space, but it was hers. A pile of canvases of every size, a whole cabinet of paints and brushes, there were even woodworking and pottery tools; art forms she knew nothing about but had always wanted to learn how to use. She even found in the corner of the room the same battered old bookcase full of her many notebooks and diaries, still looking just as worn and well loved as ever.

Ella bit her lip and let out a loud sob. Jana turned to her concerned, “Ella? Did I do something wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Before the genie could blunder forward with a string of apologies, Ella had wrapped her arms around the taller woman and pulled her head down into a kiss. Tears continued to stream down Ella’s cheeks even as their lips met. The world seemed to stop in that kiss. Ella had done it without pausing to think. Even now as her heart sored, her mind began to panic that she had gone too far. Once they finally broke apart Ella spoke softly, voice still cracking. “You could never upset me Jana. Never think that please… I’m just crying because… This is everything I’ve ever wanted in life… It was too much… I couldn’t take it! I don’t deserve it! I’m not worth all of this!” 

“Ella!” Jana finally spoke, stopping the dark haired woman before she said anything else harmful about herself. They were silent for a moment, Jana gently wiped away her tears, “Never say things like that please. You deserve the world Princess… You’ve been through so much… I never want to see you hurt again… I only want to see you happy… I…” starting to tear up herself and at a loss for words, she pulled Ella in close to her body and kissed her again. Both women who had known loneliness and pain taking comfort in the embrace and compassion of the other…


	8. What Happens Next?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a very interesting first night in their new home, Ella and Jana must decide where their relationship goes moving forward.
> 
> Content warning: Implied sex, descriptions of nudity.

In the end, the tour of the house never made it up to the master bedroom... One kiss became dozens, a hug became something more intimate, and the end result was Ella waking up beside a sleeping naked redhead in the spare bedroom…

“Well Ella, you’ve done it now…” she thought to herself, her brain already starting to panic in the dim light of morning. “You ruined your friendship after just two days! Jana is definitely going to hate you once she realizes how big of a mistake she’s made! She-“ she froze as Jana turned over in bed, so now the sleeping woman was facing Ella.

Ella felt ready to cry as she took in the sheer beauty of the goddess before her! Even with bedhead and drooling in her sleep this woman was perfection! How could she ever want anything to do with a… with someone like her…?

“Ellie…” the red head muttered in her sleep and scooted closer to her mistress, wrapping her arms around the trans girl and holding her tight to her warm soft body.

“Ok… maybe she likes me just a little…” Ella thought and blushed, not daring to move in fear she’d wake up her bedmate. 

“Good morning cutie...” Jana said moments later with a yawn before kissing Ella on the top of her head. “How are you feeling after last night?” As she spoke, her long delicate fingers playfully stroked along Ella’s body.

“I… uh…” she really was a useless gay idiot! How could just being called cute still leave her a blushing mess!? “Good! Very good!... maybe a bit confused, but… it’s a happy kind of confused… I think...” 

“Confused?” Jana repeated, sounding a bit concerned. “Why confused?... Oh gods was I the first woman you’ve been with? If so you did amazing for a first timer!”

“No!” Ella stopped her, blushing a bit more at the complement of her skills. “No, you were not my first ever, or my first woman… I’m just confused by… well what happens now?” Ella sat up in the bed to more easily talk to the genie.

“Oh… well… what do you want to happen?” Jana asked directly.

“I… well… what are our options?” Ella asked, surprised how casually Jana was treating this incident.

She ticked them off on her fingers as she listed options, “Well, one, if you consider last night a mistake in the heat of the moment, we can try our best to go back to just being friends. Two, you liked last night but don’t want strings attached, so we could become friends with benefits and just kiss and fool around now and then. Or option three, we give being girlfriends a try, and I move my stuff upstairs to your room.”

Ella was quiet for a moment as the options settled in, “You… you are taking this all much more casually than I thought you would.”

The genie laughed and smiled, “I’m a Norse girl Ella, remember? Sex is much more casual for me than modern women, And it wasn’t just me, you should have seen what it was like when Freya was away at sea.” She leaned in as if to whisper a secret, “Don’t tell the prude historians, but a lot of the wives turned to each other to keep our beds warm at night when the Vikings were off at work.” She sighed as if lost in happy memories before being brought back to reality, “Long and short Ella, if this makes you uncomfortable, that’s fine, I’ll get dressed and we will move on. But if you liked it and want to see where this goes… I’d be happy to go there with you.”

Ella tried her best to digest this information. “I… well… could we maybe get dressed and then continue this conversation? Hard to think about something this important with… you know, the girls out.” 

Jana chuckled and nodded, waving her hand and they were both wearing dress length baggy sleep shirts. “Better?”

That had happened much quicker than Ella had thought. She had hoped for a brief moment to gather her thoughts. Still this did help her nerves a little. “Yeah… better.” She took a deep breath and met Jana’s eyes. No point to hold anything back now, “Jana, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’re smart, and funny. You’ve done so much with your life… As much as I would love to date you… I’m nowhere near good enough for you…”

“Says who?” Jana sat up, suddenly very serious.

“No one said it. I… I just know it! You’ve traveled the world, you’ve fought in battles, I was too afraid to leave my parents basement before you came along! I’m not even a real-“

“Hey!” Jana quickly interrupted “Don’t you dare finish that thought Ella. You are an amazing woman and I won't let you be so hard on yourself!” She put a hand on Ella’s arm. She wanted to hold her, kiss her, make her feel loved and valued, but she held back for now. 

Ella felt her spirits lift a little hearing the genie stick up for her, but her own thoughts quickly brought herself back down, “What about Freya? You’re married. You love her.”

She did briefly pause at this comment. “I do love her, I always will. But we’re allowed to love as many people as our heart has room for in this life.”

“And are you sure… Are you sure you could love… a girl like me?” Ella couldn’t meet Jana’s gaze to ask this question, her intention clear even if she wouldn’t say it.

Jana put a hand on each of Ella’s cheeks and gently turned her to look into her eyes, “More than life itself, Princess.” She spoke softly, but there was a comforting caress in every word.

“Oh Jana…” Ella’s voice cracked with emotion and tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn’t hold back any more! The smaller human all but jumped into the genie’s arms, kissing her and holding as tight as her lithe arms could.

Jana happily accepted the kiss and smiled when they broke apart. “I take it this means we’re together now?”

“I… I think we are!” Ella held herself tight to her now confirmed lover, fighting not to cry happy tears.

“Wonderful!” Jana snuggled back against the smaller girl, planting little kisses all over her. “This calls for a special treat. I’ll make you whatever you want for breakfast. You must be hungry, after all, last night we skipped dinner and went right for dessert.”

Ella turned as red as Jana’s hair and hid her face in the bigger girl’s chest, “Oh gods! Don’t say things like that!”

“Sorry, but if you keep blushing that cutely, I’m afraid I’m required by girlfriend law to keep embarrassing you!” Jana chuckled and tickled Ella’s sides just to make her laugh and squirm. A moment later the genie surprised her by lifting the girl up from the bed.

“EEP! What are you doing!?”

“Taking you down to breakfast of course! A princess like you doesn’t need to walk when you have a knight to carry you!” She stood up from the bed, bridal carrying Ella out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

“This girl is going to kill me!!!!” Ella whimpered to herself, a blushing gay mess, clinging to the genie for support. It wasn’t long before she was gently set down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Thank you…” playfully slapped Jana’s arm, “That’s for scaring me!” She kissed the taller girl on the cheek “And that is for being so sweet!”

Jana chuckled, kissing Ella back on both cheeks. “You deserve every moment of it cutie. Now what can I make for you?”

“Gods I don’t know… How about some french toast?”

“You got it Ellie!” Jana waved a hand in the air to get the breakfast prep started, magically doing things like getting out the ingredients and starting the coffee maker, but then proceeded to fix the food by hand, enjoying the personal touch. “Hey hun, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, angel.” Ella’s cheeks went pink as she tested the pet name. It felt so nice to say it. 

“I’ve noticed that you always say gods, not God. Any particular reason?” In moments she had the french toast and several slices of bacon frying on the stove.

“Oh… No, no particular reason. You say it, I started to around you… It might have something to do with the fact my mom told me for years that their God hated me. Maybe… Do you think you could teach me more about your gods? Maybe your religion would treat me better.” She spoke sheepishly, but sincerely. 

“Oh I can understand that. Don’t worry about your parents’ capital G God. Nothing people like Karen say about religion is remotely true… For a number of reasons. I’d be more than happy to teach you about Odin and the rest any time hun! They’re an interesting bunch.” With a final flourish and a small snap of her fingers she tried to hide from Ella, Jana had a platter of food set with crispy bacon, fresh coffee, and french toast with nutella and strawberries.

“Thanks sweetie! That was fast.” She paused and smiled mischievously, “How much of this was you, and how much was the magic?”

Jana sighed and deflated a little, “Eh, half and half.” She admitted, showing her own plate of food that had all torn pieces of bread and burnt bacon. “I need a little more practice.”

“Don’t worry Jana, it still looks delicious.” She kissed Jana and stole a slice of burnt bacon,

“Thanks Ellie.” Jana chuckled, seeing the theft but not bothering to stop her. “I like doing things without magic, but I’m not very good without it.”

“... Serious question hun.” Ella said after a thoughtful swig of coffee, “Once I free you, would you still have magic, or would you be human?”

The genie dropped her coffee mug in surprise at the question, moving quickly, her magic caught both liquid and mug before either hit the ground. “I… I’ve never thought of that actually… I suppose I’d be human. I’d have a lot to learn to do on my own before then…” she paused for a moment deep in thought before shaking her head and smiling, “Still, we have a lot of wishes to use before we have to think about that. 15 wishes is a long time to perfect using a stove.”

“15!?” Ella cried out, “Yesterday it was only 9!”

Jana smiled a little mischievously, “Well… let’s just say you did a lot of… selfless things for my benefit last night sweetie. Let me tell you, you earned every one of those wishes!” 

Ella blushed again, trying to distract from it by eating the provided food. It was all delicious, but she did notice something that Jana had said the day before; the magically augmented food wasn’t as good as the homemade. The difference in taste between the burnt homemade bacon and the perfect slices was slight… but still noticeable. Just a little less satisfying. Still delicious, but the flavor seemed slightly muted, and not as filling. Great for a day or a few meals, but she could see how it would get frustrating over time.

“Now. What are our plans for today?” Jana asked with a mouthful of toast and berries. “You let me have free reign yesterday. So today we can do anything you want.”

“Free reign in a house of my own…” Ella couldn’t help but feel very happy about that idea. “Well I could maybe start a new painting… but that’s not something to do together… how would you feel about a fashion show? There are so many cute outfits I’ve always wanted to try!” Now she didn’t have to try and time a clothing order for times her parents were away. Should could wear all girls clothes all the time now if she felt like it!

“That sounds fun!” Jana smiled, getting an idea. She snapped her fingers and was back in the maids outfit she had been wearing when they met. “I can help you get dressed whenever you are ready, mistress!” Jana gave a little curtsy, smiling at her girlfriend.

“Is there anything you can do that doesn’t make me blush!” Ella cried out cheeks pink. It wasn’t fair! Jana looked so perfect in everything!

“Not sure, I haven’t tried everything yet.” Jana winked and blew a kiss. She magiced the empty dishes into the dishwasher and led Ella upstairs to the master bedroom and a massive walk in closet. Just as Ella was starting to wonder if Jana was teasing her again by swaying her hips as she walked in front of her, Ella was taken in by the sheer number of outfits available to her; everything from ball gowns to lingerie!

“Oh gods… I want to try them all on!” She ran over and grabbed the most effeminate dress on the rack, a bright pink princess dress with frilly lace, and tried to pull it over her head as soon as it was off the hanger.

“Easy hun! Easy!” Jana rushed over, fighting not to laugh when she saw Ella was trying to push her head out of a hole for a sleeve. “I know you’re eager but if you aren’t more gentle you’ll tear the dress. Here.” Once Ella was holding still, Jana helped pull her head out the proper place and straighten the body of the outfit. “There we go! Much better! Give me a twirl, cutie!”

Ella ran to the full body mirror and felt the core of her being swell with joy seeing herself in the dress. She obliged Jana’s request, spinning around just to feel the fabric spin with her. “This is wonderful!” Ella said with a huge smile, “I could spend all day in this!” She hummed softly and looked at herself in the mirror, sad to feel her joy lessen as her brain focused on little details like her wide shoulders or flat chest that would make it harder to pass as a girl no matter how pretty the dress was.

“What ho, malady!” Ella turned when Jana called out to find her new girlfriend was dressed in full plate mail, with a sword on her hip, a helmet under her arm and her hair free and loose down her back. “Fair princess! How may this lowly knight serve thee?” Jana asked with a bow.

“How the hell did you put that on so quick?” Ella asked, stunned out of her mild dysphoria.

“Magic!” Jana had returned to her normal speaking pattern. “Not a fan of the armor? What if I go more authentic?” She snapped her fingers and now she stood in a blue cloth dress adorned with simple gold ornaments and brooches with her hair in a long tight braid and a long spear brandished in one hand. “Viking warrior companion? Or perhaps your captor?” 

Jana smiled, thinking of a new character for herself. She deepened her voice a little and moved closer to Ella “A pretty young thing like you is worth more than all the gold in this castle. Maybe you’re the prize I’ll take away with me…”

Ella couldn’t deny that this would be a really hot roleplay… However, Ella couldn’t stop herself from asking a dumb question, “No helmet?”

Jana froze and sighed, dropping the spear to the ground. “No Ella, we didn’t all have helmets… and none of them had horns!”

“Oh I knew that.” Ella was surprised how upset Jana sounded about the helmet. “The horns on the helmet thing was because helmets and drinking horns were found together and the anthropologist assumed they went together, right?”

Jana let out a sigh of relief, “Yes that’s it exactly! I’m so glad I didn’t have to explain that to you… sorry, those dang horns are a tender spot for me. It makes my people look so ridiculous! It’d be like if they made a movie about the American revolutionary war and all the generals were wearing soda drink hats!”

“... When you put it that way, it does take away the Viking intimidation factor a lot.”

“You see!” She took a deep breath, “maybe I should save this outfit for another time…”

Ella blushed, remembering the stories Lupa and Markus had said, “I heard you used to be a pirate… I’d love to see that outfit. Wouldn’t even need to change this… character very much.”

“Now you’re thinking!” Jana laughed and snapped her fingers again. Now she stood in trousers and boots, a shirt with a barely laced up front teasing Ella with cleavage, a cutlass on her hip and her hair covered with a bandanna. “Prepare to be boarded lass!” She said with a wink.

“Oh gods you look amazing in everything! I…” Ella paused, looking a bit closer, “Wait, did you make yourself taller too?”

The genie smiled sheepishly, “Just a little.”

“Oh you are so lucky!” She huffed a little, looking back at the mirror, her eyes once again were drawn to her flaws. “I wish I could do that...” she perked up at the idea. “You know what, why not! Jana, I wish I could change my form any way I want!”

Jana was surprised but smiled and nodded her head in approval. “Shape shifting? Now that’s a fun wish!” She snapped her fingers and Ella felt something invisible surge over her body like a powerful wind, “There you go princess. All you have to do is think of the change you want and snap your fingers and boom! You can be anything you want to be.” The genie took a seat, curious to watch her girlfriend test out this new power.

Ella was excited to try out a little magic of her own. “Let’s start with something small to test this out…” she snapped her fingers and watched in the mirror as her black hair grew longer and got new red highlights. “It works!” She cried out excitedly. She paused mid outburst and snapped again. “Testing?” Her voice was now higher and smoother, much more overtly female. “This is so cool!!!”

“Love the hair Ellie!” Jana called in support.

Ella ran her fingers through the hair and smiled “I always wanted to get a little color in it! Now… let’s try a few bigger changes!” Snap! Her body hair was gone and her eyebrows thinned. Snap! The line of her cheekbones and chin were softened while gentle makeup had been applied to her face. Snap! Her hands and feet were made a bit smaller and more delicate, each nail quickly painted a soft pink. Snap! Snap! Snap!

Jana’s jaw dropped at the last few changes. Ella had chosen to fill out her dress nicely with perky c cup breasts, a cute butt and a gentle hourglass figure. “What do you think sweetie? Do I look like a real princess now?” Ella asked, radiant with confidence in her perfect body, just the way she had always imagined it!

“Oh darling, you were always a princess to me! Always adorable and pretty, but if this new look makes you more happy with who you are, then I can only say you are even more beautiful!”

Ella beamed at her lover. She did feel truly beautiful, and what’s more, for the first time in years she felt right! “Thank you so much sweetie!” She blew Jana a kiss and bowed with a curtsy. “Hmm… But I can do a lot more with these powers than just give me a makeover.” She paused in thought, trying to think of something she could do to get back at her partner for making her blush so badly and so often. She smiled, getting an idea.

“What do you think of this?” She snapped her fingers and she had been transported out of her princess dress. She now stood seemingly naked before Jana; hair bright red, eyes gold, skin a deep blue, and her frame all curves. A favorite of geeks everywhere.

“Oh gods!” Jana covered her face, cheeks blushing just as hard as Ella had hoped “Mystique! You can’t just blindside a lesbian with Mystique!”

Ella laughed, lightly feeling up her own body, “I know what you mean. Still no regrets! Didn’t know if I could change my clothes too… Let’s try another one!” Ella snapped her fingers and in an instant she was a young elf girl with long blonde hair, a pretty but simple dress and a heart warming smile, “Who am I now Janny?”

“Skyward Sword Zelda? Very pretty. Points for taste, best Princess Zelda till Breath of the Wild.” The genie nodded her approval.

“Next one is easy but I have to try it.” Another snap, and this time Jana had to look around to find where Ella had gone.

“Up here!” a small voice called. Jana looked up to see a tiny fairy in a green dress, flying around the ceiling. “Having wings is amazing!”

“Tinkerbell! Classic!” she laughed and clapped till Ella landed on top of the stool she had stood on to model not long before.

“So I know I can do non-human transformations.” Her squeaky voice commented. “One more test run…” Snap! Where the fairy had stood now sat a tiny fluff ball of a black bunny with huge eyes and a pink bow tied around her neck. 

“Oh gods!” Jana squealed out, getting down to have a better look at the little bundle of fuzz. “How do you keep finding ways to get even cuter?”

“Just a gift I suppose.” Ella said, but was surprised that her voice came out as little squeaks, unintelligible to Jana. “Huh… That’s a surprise.” She squeaked, hopping down from the stool and jumping around the room a bit just for fun before sitting up and looking around. 

“Everything seems so strange so huge… Maybe that’s enough of this for now.” She went to snap her fingers, but nothing happened. She tried again but she remained a rabbit. She looked at her little rabbit paws and came to the horrified realization that without thumbs she couldn’t snap!

“Oh gods! Am I stuck like this?! Jana! Jana help! Code red! Emergency!” She hopped over to her now humongous girlfriend and began pawing at her pants leg.

Of course since Jana couldn’t speak bunny, all she saw was a happy little bun-bun hopping around the room and squeaking excitedly. She smiled down at her transformed girlfriend. “Aww! Does someone want to be held?”

“What? No! I need help! Listen to me you… you… EEP!” As she struggled to find a way to call her girlfriend an idiot that wasn’t too hurtful to her feelings. Magical dingbat, maybe?

She found herself being picked off the ground and snuggled to the genie’s chest… In all honesty, being cuddled and pet by a giant woman, resting on breasts as big as she was… Ella probably could have stayed in that position happily for hours if she hadn’t been afraid to be stuck like this. 

She hated herself for ruining the moment, but she squirmed and struggled out of Jana’s grip and jumped down to the ground. She tried waving her stubby rabbit arms in the air and squeaking “No! I don’t want cuddles! I need help! SOS! Mayday!”

“What’s wrong sweetie?...” asked Jana. “Oh! Do you want to play with someone your size? I can do that!” 

Before Ella could squeak out a “NO!” Jana snapped her own fingers and turned into a slightly larger bunny with red fur to match her hair. “There we go! Now, what sort of hijinks should we get up to?”

“Jana you beautiful dolt! Now we’re both stuck!” Ella cried out, hopping over to the rabbit and shaking her by the shoulders. “I’ve been trying to tell you! I can’t change back because I can’t snap my fingers!” She seemed close to tears, her huge expressive bunny eyes looking painfully sad as she held up her paw, “I don’t have any fingers! And now we’re both stuck like this because you don’t have fingers either!” 

Jana was thrown off by the torrent of sadness and frustration that Ella was letting out. This wasn’t nearly as cute as she had thought it would be. Having realized her mistake she wrapped her front legs around the little black bunny. “Hey, it’s ok! It’s ok! We’re not stuck. I can fix this.” She bumped her muzzle against Ella, in a bunny approximation of a kiss and took a step back. 

She clapped her forepaws together and in an instant they were both human and full size. “I am so sorry, Ellie! I should have realized something was wrong! We can tweak your magic so it doesn’t happen again. Are you ok?”

“Yeah I…” Ella was blushing a deep red, “I’m ok but… did you have to turn us back in these outfits!?” 

Jana looked down as if just now realizing what she was wearing. They were both dressed as playboy bunny girls, right down to the cottontail, ears and fishnet stockings. “Huh…” she struck a pose, extending her leg in the mirror. “You know I didn’t mean to put these on… But I have to say, we both look great in them!”

Once over her initial embarrassment, Ella had to admit a strange confidence in an outfit like this. “It does look cute and sexy all at once…” She pulled off the bunny ear headband, “Still after being a rabbit it feels kinda inappropriate…” She was only half joking, it did feel odd to see herself as a sexy bunny girl after being an actual bunny. “Maybe I could try a cat girl later and see if that feels more natural.” 

“Oh I would love to see that.” Jana chuckled, snapping her fingers and returning her clothes to normal pajamas. “Maybe that’s enough excitement in here for a bit. What do you want to do next bun-bun?”

Ella blushed, sure that bun-bun was a pet name that would probably haunt her for years after today… And she kinda liked the sound of that. “Well… i have one more transformation I want to try. But I think it’d be better to do it in the pool. Fancy a swim or a little sun bathing?” 

“Sounds like a good time to me.” Jana selected a bikini for herself from the clothing rack and went to grab Ella’s one piece the fairies had given her.

“No dear, not that one today.” Ella tried to sound confident, but her voice still cracked a little. “I think I need a two piece for what I’m thinking. Besides… I do want to see how I look after my changes… Maybe a bikini top and board shorts for now.”

Jana nodded her approval and grabbed the suit for her. “No bikini bottoms yet?” She asked, stripping out of her PJs and pulling on her own suit, not bothering at all to hide her naked body from her girlfriend. Since they both knew she could change magically without effort, this felt like a clear power move to tease Ella. 

“Not yet,” She agreed with a blush. Not wanting to be outdone, she too began stripping, but turned away from Jana since she didn’t have as robust confidence as the genie. “I haven’t… fully transitioned my body just yet. I figured I’d save that… final change for later… You know… figure out how everything works.” She was now blushing even harder at her own subject of conversation.

Jana smiled and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. Holding her hand, she led the human out of their changing room. “There’s no need to rush anything if you aren’t ready sweetie. It’s your body, and it’s your magic. You can move at whatever pace you want. Just know I’m here to help any way I can.”

“Thanks Jana…” Ella smiled and paused for a moment in the stairwell to kiss the genie. What had she done to deserve a partner as wonderful as this?”

They were at the door to the backyard in moments. Ella hesitated before stepping outside and wasn’t sure if the hesitation was about her last transformation plan, or just concern over who might see her in a bikini the first time and what they would say. “Do you think the neighbors can see us from the pool?”

Jana shook her head. “Nice high fences. That and I know that the only house that can see over it is unoccupied. We’re fine sweetie. Just you and me.” She opened the sliding door and led Ella outside. She kissed Ella on the cheek and ran for the pool “Catch me if you can!” She called out, running for the pool and jumping into the deep end with a cannon ball. 

“Alright… here we go…” Ella walked to the pool and climbed in by the stairs. Once waist deep she took a deep breath and snapped her fingers. She staggered for a moment, losing her footing. However when she looked down, she saw she had not only lost her footing, but her feet, replaced with a silver blue mermaid’s tail! “THIS IS SO COOL!” She squealed, flipping her tail to propel her through the water, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. 

Jana was laughing at her enthusiasm. “I thought that’s what you were planning.” She saw Ella preparing to dive, “No wait!” But too late. Ella had jumped up into the air and dived down below the water. She swam happily below the surface for about a second before her face became pained and she struggled and flailed to get back to the surface. Worried for her safety, Jana teleported her out of the water and onto a deck chair with a small splash as some water taken with her hit the ground. The genie rushed over to make sure she was breathing and was relieved to see her hacking up the pool water. “Now who’s the dolt!” Jana said once she was sure Ella was ok. “You can’t just give yourself a fishtail and expect to breath underwater! You need gills and a different system of lungs for that!”

Ella groaned, feeling like an idiot for having missed that. Jana continued, “Besides you wouldn’t want to breathe pool water anyways. All those chemicals right into your lungs? Not a good idea.”

“Right… Stupid… I should have realized…” She muttered with one more cough.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Jana said gently, stroking Ella’s hair. “You’re not the first girl to make that mistake, believe me. Can’t blame you. You’ve never seen a real mermaid to know what they need to survive.”

Ella was broken out of her pity party. “Real mermaid… There are real mermaids!?”

“Of course there are real mermaids cutie. Well, merfolk is the gender inclusive term for the species. After meeting a genie, werewolves and fairies I’m surprised that you still think anything is fictional.” That was a good point.

“So… does that mean I could meet actual mermaids! Do you know them?” Ella could barely contain her growing excitement. 

“Of course you can meet them. I don’t know all of them of course… But they do live a long time… I might still have a few friends down there to show us around… What do you say Ella, Do we have our next road trip planned out?”

Ella couldn’t say yes fast enough.


	9. Under the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jana and Ella visit the world of the mermaids and make some new friends.

With no major plans for the day, and no one to dictate to them when they had to be home, Jana decided there was no reason to wait and they should go to visit the merfolk right now. However, considering how blindsided she had been by some elements of the werewolf village, Ella wanted to ask some questions before they just poofed away.

“So… where exactly are these mermaids? Atlantis? The Bermuda Triangle?”

Jana actually laughed, “Don’t be silly! Plato made up Atlantis to tell a cautionary tale. And the triangle is just a bunch of gas screwing with navigation instruments… well ok there are merfolk around there, but they aren’t confined to that one area of the Caribbean, and it’s not nearly as insane as b movies would make you think.”

“No Triangle?... No Atlantis!....” Ella sounded heartbroken to hear that and sadly deflated a little. Jana hugged her close to her chest.

“I’m sorry bunny. It’s a hazard of seeing the magic in the world. You learn what’s true and was forgotten, and you learn what was always just a story.”

Ella was still pouting as she looked up at her girlfriend, “Is there any other dream of mine you want to crush?” She was clearly just being overly dramatic but Jana still felt guilty for doing anything to make her that sad.

“Not that I can think of off hand love. But you’ll be the first to know once I do.” She kisses Ella on the head before snapping her fingers, having just remembered something and speaking before she could help herself, “Oh! Also El Dorado isn’t real either. Just wishful thinking by greedy Spanish explorers… and the Chupacabra is just a short hairy vampire who lives alone in the jungle.”

Ella threw up her hands “Odin’s eye babe!” Wow, that is a fun way to swear, “I was being sarcastic! You didn’t need to ruin something else!... wait, did you say vampire? Those are real?”

The genie nodded, “Oh yeah, those are all over the place. Not too different from the stories either. But only the young vampires are any fun. Anyone more than 300 years old tends to be a stuffy elitist, hiding away thinking they’re better than the rest of the world..”

Ella nodded, understanding how that could happen with what she knew about vampires from fiction. “Ok, let’s put visiting them down as a maybe for later… Now back to the mer-people!”

“Oh right, we got way off track.” Jana laughed and thought what there was to tell Ella. “Well, back to your question, they live all over the place, but this community I’m sending us too is off a small island in the South Pacific. Close to the tail end of Hawaii. They have a big house on the island for human visitors.”

“They get visitors? How many people know about this place?”

“Not as many as you’d think.” Jana continued. “You see, merfolk see it as their job to rescue as many drowning humans as they can. And… well a lot of the humans rescued choose to stay, especially since the world presumed them dead. Hence, tons know about the secret, but it stays contained.”

“So… you mean there’s an entire community of people presumed dead living on a beautiful Hawaiian island that were rescued by mermaids? That sounds amazing!”

“Well no, not all of them on the island… you know what, it’s probably better if I just show you that. Easier than trying to explain.” She stopped to think for a moment, “Let’s see… anything else important I’m forgetting… oh! Most of the mermaids will also be naked.”

“Really! Does no one you know wear a shirt!” Ella covered her face and brushed hard. “Couldn’t they at least have those shell bras…” she muttered out with a sigh.

“Have you ever stepped on a shell babe? You tell me why sea creatures aren’t strapping them to the funbags!”

“That… is a good point and I should have thought of it before now.” She involuntarily winced at the thought and put her hands to her own breasts as if feeling sympathy pain.

“Anything else you want to know sweetie?” Jana asked, limbering up her fingers for the snap.

“Hmm… Yeah I have a few more but I’m probably better off seeing it than hearing about it. Maybe we should go to the island first. Talk with them before diving deep into things.”

“Can do! Now we just need the magic words…”

Ella smiled “I wish we could go to the mermaids’ island!”

Jana snuck a quick kiss from her girlfriend before snapping her fingers, making them disappear in a loud crack.

__________________________________________________________________

Moments later Ella opened her eyes to the dim light of early dawn and the smell of salt water. She sighed happily, feeling her toes move through the white sand of the beach. Even without the promise of magic around her and under the water, this island would be a paradise! She turned and smiled, seeing further proof of this place as perfection; Jana wearing that amazing red bikini again. 

She tried to refocus on the matter at hand. There were hours and… maybe even years ahead of her to bask in the joy of being with a girl as wonderful as this, but who knew how many chances in her life she would get to see mermaids?

“So, which way to that magic beach house!” She asked, taking Jana’s hand and letting her lead the way.

The genie turned her gaze inland, “Right over here bunny.” Ella was surprised she had missed it, but just a few feet into the tree line was a sprawling three story house.

“Was… was that there the whole time?” 

Jana nodded “Magical camouflage. Most people traveling near here by sea or air won’t see the house.” 

“... Don’t tell the mermaids I said this. I like our house better.” She meant it half jokingly, but even seeing through the magical protection the house wasn’t very impressive. With shingles missing and broken windows, she’d have thought it was abandoned.

“Of course our house is better. You live there.” Jana stole another kiss from her blushing lover. “But they are using the same idea that we are, keep the outside simple so it doesn’t draw much attention.” She motioned towards the house and they began walking up the beach. 

“Backup security.” Ella nodded in understanding, fighting the butterflies in her stomach as they reached the front entrance. She was pleasantly surprised to see a fish tail door knocker. Feet from the door Ella stopped in the sand, struck by a sudden thought.

“Bunny? What’s wrong?” Jana asked, stepping away from the dilapidated porch. 

“I just realized… Well, this would have been my third wish. If I had been playing by normal rules, this would have been my last wish already.”

Jana smiled gently and took her girlfriend by the hand. “But darling we aren’t playing by normal rules. Even now you have 13 wishes before anything happens.”

“I know… But I still feel guilty I haven’t freed you yet angel… you’ve been through too much in life. You deserve it!”

Jana looked as if she wanted to say something but changed her mind. “It’s not as simple as deserving it… it’s a long story… could we maybe talk about this at home? I mean, can’t free me right now anyway, need at least one wish to get us home.” She said the last bit jokingly, but still seemed a bit on edge.

“Yeah… ok sweetie.” Ella squeezed the genie’s hand in her own. She could tell there was something big going on her, but she knew forcing someone to talk about a sensitive subject before they were ready could sometimes do more harm than good. But she would be there whenever Jana was ready, no matter what her problem was.

“Thanks bun bun.” Jana let out a breath she had been holding and kissed Ella in gratitude. “Now, how about those mermaids?” The girls smiled at each other and the genie hopped back up the stairs to the door with the fish tail knocker. 

Jana knocked three times and waited. After no response she knocked again. “Go away!” A raspy female voice called from the other side. “We don’t want whatever you are selling.”

“I am a genie here to show my master the wonders of your home and your city.” After the talk they had just had, the term “Master” stung Ella a little, even though she knew from Jana’s tone it was just formality.

They could hear locks being undone on the other side of the door. When the door swung open, a short stout woman who looked about 40 with black hair and a long white dress stood to meet them. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “I’m sorry, but you’re a what?”

“A genie.” Jana repeated, snapping her fingers and produced a jewel encrusted gold triton from the air and handed it to the woman. “A gift as proof of my power and our peaceful interest in this house.”

“Huh…” she seemed a little surprised, but seemed clearly used to stranger things. “So you’re not here to steal or sell anything? Just tourists looking around?”

“That’s about the size of it yeah.”

She smiled and stepped out of the doorway “In that case, come on in! Sorry to keep you waiting. Welcome to the Shoal House.” Her voice was still a little rough and raspy, but much more amiable than before. “How long will you be staying with us?”

“Just the afternoon madam.” Jana gave a little bow. “I promised my girlfriend I’d show her how the merfolk live..”

Ella couldn’t help but blush a bit to be called her girlfriend to another person. She liked the sound of it much better than master! The host nodded and motioned for them to follow her inside. “Of course, right this way. Everyone will be excited to meet you! Visitors of any kind are so rare, and what’s more friendly magical guests! My name is-” she proceeded to bark like a seal “-but most human guests call me Cici.”

Jana paused in genuine surprise “Are you a silkie Cici? You’re a bit far away from your native waters aren’t you?”

“Well spotted!” She sounded delighted to be recognized. “Yes, my husband decided to move here years ago. And you know the old story; man loves magical seal woman, seal woman has no free will if man steals and hides her magic pelt, seal woman has to follow man till she gets her skin back.”

Jana nodded in understanding but Ella was completely baffled. The genie leaned over and whispered “I’ll explain later.” She continued at normal volume, “So is your husband still around or are you free now?”

She gave another barking laugh, “Oh that jerk died years ago. Shark attack. I just stayed here for the warm weather. Not to mention… The shark was very cute. Got to know him better.”

Even that surprised Jana a little, “A silkie and a shark person… well, love takes all sorts.” She chucked and shrugged, squeezing Ella’s hand.

“Yes it does.” She sighed contentedly before remembering something “Mizu!” She called down the hall, “You can come out now sweetie. They’re friendly.”

A door under a staircase opened up. Sitting inside the tiny closet was a huge man with a shark's head. “Ya mean I don’t get to scare ‘em off? Where’s the fun in that love!” The creature stood up. Ella had to give him credit, if this 7 foot tall muscular man with claws, webbed fingers, no pants (don’t stare Ella! Do! Not! Stare!) and the head of a great white had jumped out of the closet to chase her down, she would have been scared. 

The shark man held up a jar of salsa, “I was just gonna make my mouth look all bloody for effect! It was gonna be so cool!”

Was this mass of muscle and teeth pouting? … ok maybe he wasn’t as scary as his bulk implied. “I’m sorry sweetie.” The small plump woman pulled his head down to her chest and began petting it before turning her attention back to the guests. “We didn’t know what sort of visitors you were. We figured my Mizu here would be enough to scare away hunters, salesmen, missionaries, realtors, any of those sort of pests.”

“Oh I understand.” Jana nodded in agreement, “We visited werewolves the other day. We know magical people enjoy their privacy.”

Ella couldn’t help but join the conversation with a thought probably better left alone “So Cici… Mizu is the shark who… who ate your ex?”

“Ate him!? What ya been tellin’ ‘em C? That bastard was threatening this fair maiden with a harpoon gun he was! Tellin’ her to show him where more like her were. I wouldn’t stand for it! I snuck up on the wanker, and tore him to pieces I did! But I didn’t swallow none! I have my limits… Besides, the tosser tasted worse than old tires.”

The silkie chuckled and hugged her man “He was fantastic! That monster deserved everything he got and worse!”

“I bet he did.” Ella couldn’t exactly lament the loss of this man who had essentially coerced a magical creature into marrying him and all the horrible details that cursed relationship could have meant for this woman. 

As if realizing they had gotten far away from the point, Cici resumed her job as host. “Now then, tell me more about yourselves and I’ll know where to begin the tour.”

“Not much to tell.” Jana said with a shrug. “Like I said, I’m a centuries old genie from the ancient Viking colony of Dublin, and Ella here is my beautiful shapeshifting girlfriend/mistress.”

Cici nodded “I guess you’re right. Nothing too unusual about any of that.”

“Nothing unusual?” Ella repeated. Even talking to magical creatures, that description should have stood out a little.

“Oh we are used to much stranger things in the ocean. We have seen it all. Jana isn’t even the first genie visitor we’ve had.” She motioned with her hand for the guests to follow and lead them deeper into the house.

Jana smiled a bit “Well this is my 3rd visit over the years. Maybe every time I come someone thinks I’m a different genie.”

“Nah,” Mizu said, walking beside them. “Us creatures of the deep live much longer than you think. Our elders have seen a lot ‘n remember a lot. They’ll recognize you definitely. But even I know there’s more genies than just you. We have one living here after all.”

“Another genie?” Ella was going to ask more when she was led into a room that seemed to be a bathhouse or something similar. A large hot water pool with three people about her age sitting in the water. However, people might not have been the best term. One seemed completely human but had webbed fingers when he waved. Another was a woman playfully swishing back and forth a dolphin tail. The third was strangest, a bipedal humanoid with huge eyes, pointed teeth and green scales all over his body.

Cici caught Ella staring and nodded towards the pool, “Here you see the three current residents of the Shoal House. The magic of the waters is slowly preparing them for life under the sea. Hi kids!”

“Hi Cici!” The scaly resident climbed out of the water and walked over to them, dripping wet. “Name is Chase! Checking in?” He extended a hand to Ella, accompanying it with a very toothy smile.

“Just visiting… Wait… You used to be human? Anyone who wants can become a merperson!” Ella asked, turning her attention to Jana, knowing this must have been what she was alluding to earlier, the thing that was easier to see than explain.

“Yep! I moved in 2 weeks ago. Before this I was kicked out by my parents and dumped by my boyfriend all in the same day when I came out to them. Really moved up in the world since then don’t you think?” He spoke rather cheerfully despite the dark subject. 

“Oh gods, that’s horrible!” This oddly extroverted fish’s back story had regained Ella’s attention.

He shrugged, “Yeah it was pretty rough. I was in a bad place then. But… well at rock bottom, a cute lion fish boy found me and brought me here!”

Ella was left to wonder what sort of rock bottom would result in this young soon-to-be merman being in a spot merfolk could find him… the answers were rather dark… She tried to focus on the positive, “Wait you said you came out?”

“Yeah! Would you believe that this time three weeks ago I was presenting as a miserable straight woman, deep in the closet?” He chuckled, flexing his developing muscles with pride.

“YOU’RE TRANS TOO!!!” Ella practically squealed out. She’d been waiting years to make other transgender friends.

“Oh, you too?” The scaly man said with the same level of excitement. “Are you just coming out? I can tell you aren’t binding or anything yet.”

“Binding? What are you…” the realization hit her like a wave crashing over her head. She felt herself welling up with happy tears “You think I look like a cis girl?”

Realizing his mistake Chase hurried to apologize but was quickly cut off with a hug. “Thank you so much for saying that!” She pulled away and wiped her tear stained cheeks. “You really made my day Chase. I… Well this is just my second day presenting as female. After so long being forced to stay in the closet… it’s such a nice feeling to be seen as myself!”

Ella’s scaly new friend nodded in agreement “Amen to that sister.”

Chase stayed with them for the rest of the tour. The Shoal House seemed like a dormitory or youth hostel with lots of nice but simple bedrooms and a few common areas. The top floors were for the newest arrivals, the most human residents. The further down the floors went, the more the amenities were better provided for mer-people needs. The strangest thing was the pools of water in all the ground floor rooms. Some seemed to be more magic water to soak in, but others looked like dark tunnels. “Quick passages to the city below. Not everyone can come in from the beach.” Cici explained when she saw Ella staring.

“Do you… Can I please go and see the city now?” Ella asked, excited and nervous to finally be here.

“Well sure ya can, but cha won’t get far as ya are. It’s a deep tunnel ‘n a long way down.” Mizu said with a deep chuckle.

Jana put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. She had been pretty quiet since the other genie had been brought up, but she spoke in support of Ella, “She can manage fine on by herself Mizu. My little bunny has magic of her own.”

“.... Wutza bunny?” The shark asked, a bit confused.

“It’s like a little land otter with long floppy ears.” Chase tried his best to explain.

Ella blushed at the nickname and climbed into the pool. The water was surprisingly cold but she managed it with just a quick shudder. She snapped her fingers and her legs once again merged to become a large green fish tail. She put a hand to her neck and felt what seemed to be shallow cuts; newly created gills. “Did I do these right?”

“Only one way to find out. Cannonball!” Mizu called out, jumping into the pool and making a massive splash, soaking those on land and submerging Ella briefly. Jana was prepared to magically pull Ella from the water again, but relaxed when she saw she wasn’t struggling.

Ella poked her head above the water and gave a thumbs up, “Gills working great so far!”

“Lucky!” Chase pouted, sitting on the edge of the pool “Mine haven’t come in yet. The magic transforms everyone at their own pace. Of course it’s the only thing I’m missing! Stupid fish puberty…”

Ella hesitated for a moment in thought before speaking to Jana “Hey hun, are there any rules about mixing magic styles or accelerating the process?” She couldn’t help but think of an old story of a boy who helped a butterfly out of its cocoon early, only for it to fall to the ground dead because it wasn’t ready to fly yet.

Jana knew where she was going with this. “No rules I’m aware of. Different magics tend to work together very well. What do you say Chase? Want to graduate from the Shoal House a few days early?”

“What are you…” He sat up, remembering them saying Jana was a genie, “Oh no I couldn’t! You only have so many wishes! It would be such a waste to use one on me. I can wait! Really!”

“Of course your happiness is worth a wish Chase.” Ella pulled herself out of the water a bit to better talk to her friend. “Besides… funny story about the number of wishes…” she noticed Jana gently shaking her head, not wanting her secret let out. “Let’s just say I have a special relationship with Jana. I have more wishes than you’d think.”

“Really?... well… in that case…” Chase nervously took a breath, “I’m ready then.”

Ella nodded, “Jana, I wish that Chase finished his transformation, exactly how he wants it.”

Jana snapped her fingers. There was a flash of light and the group got a good look at the new Chase. Apparently “exactly how he wants it” included a few things they hadn’t expected. He was about half a foot taller, more toned and muscular. His face had shifted outwards to form a snout, and his hands and feet had become more clawlike. Finally, his scales had become more rough and course, and a large powerful tail had sprouted from his lower back. He looked less like a fish and more like…

“A ‘gator?” He asked looking at himself, surprised but still loving the new look. “I’ve been turning into an alligator this whole time? I thought I was becoming a shark or an angler fish.” He smiled, noticing his voice was deeper and began flexing his muscles in the reflection of the pool.

“Technically I think you’re more of a saltwater crocodile.” Mizu called from the water. “No gills but you can hold your breath for a good long time.”

“Huh… Jana sweetie did something happen with the wish? I wished for him to transform how he wanted, but he’s a different species than he thought.” Ella asked, more than a bit surprised how things had turned out. 

Jana shook her head, “I’m not too surprised. The magic of the water was already making Chase his perfect animal self, even if he didn’t know it. My magic just sped things up… and maybe helped with perfecting his transition.”

“Thank you!” Jana was surprised to be picked up from the ground and hugged tight by the reptile. “This is amazing!” He put the genie down and jumped for the water, “Your turn Ella!” He practically pounced the shapeshifter, forcing them both underwater for a bone cracking thank you hug. “This is the kindest thing that anyone has done for me! You’re the best!” Neither was surprised that they could talk and understand each other from under the water.

Ella heard faintly from above the water “Everyone in!” And saw the forms of Jana and Cici jump for the water. Ella and Chase moved back against the walls of the tunnel to get out of their way, both surprised by what they saw when the bubbles cleared. 

Jana seemed to have transformed when she hit the water, and she had gone more authentic than Ella had in her transformation. She had given herself an eel tail and the skin of her upper body was blue. Her fingers had claws, her teeth were sharp and her long red hair floated freely around her like a cloud. 

The mer-genie grinned when she noticed Ella blushing, and immediately knew why; Jana had made the decision to go naked. “Oh, don’t worry, honeybun!” laughed Jana. “This is pretty standard for merfolk. Though, if you don’t mind me suggesting, you might wanna consider something other than a plain tank top. It doesn’t go with your tail.”

Ella looked down. She hadn’t put much thought into her outfit when preparing for the trip. She had simply chosen the first clothes that would be suitable for a tropical climate. The top was cute and feminine, but Ella could already tell that other merfolk would stare at her. 

Jana placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna go topless, Ella I have an idea…” The genie waved her hand, and Ella was suddenly wearing the same red bikini top that Jana had worn earlier. It went perfectly with the mermaid’s tail.

Ella threw her arms around Jana and the two mermaids embraced each other under the water, tails wrapping around each other as they shared a quick kiss.

“Ready to go?” said the voice of Cici behind them. Ella looked up and noticed a seal. Just a human sized seal with a face and eyes that were just a bit too intelligent and expressive. 

“If you’re done snogging, could we get a move on?” said the seal, confirming that she was in fact Cici, before swimming quickly straight down into the tunnel. Mizu was right behind her.

The three new arrivals hesitated for a moment before shrugging and following. Ella and Chase both had difficulty directing their swim in their new forms, so Jana had to take the lead, taking both of them by the hand to guide them. 

“So Chase,” Ella tried to make some small talk as they made their way through the long dark cavern, “You’ve never even seen this town before?”

“Once, on my way into the island. Lance, the lion fish I mentioned earlier, he swam me past it quickly when he brought me here.” explained the crocodile-man. “It was much bigger than you’d expect and more people here than you’d think too, but I didn’t exactly get a good look at it… I was looking at him more than my surroundings if I’m honest…”

Ella chuckled, glad to have some levity. “I bet you’re excited to have a chance to see him again.” She was surprised to see a light coming up below them. A gradually increasing glow of bioluminescent algae. 

“Maybe…” Chase muttered. “He probably doesn’t want to be friends with a weird guy like me...”

“Hey don’t be like that! You’re a great guy, I bet there are tons of cute fish down here just waiting to meet you, and if this Lance has any sense he’ll be first in line.” Ella caught a smirk and sidelong glance from Jana and only then did Ella realize she was repeating a lot of what had been said to her this morning. She chuckled to herself at the irony.

“Thanks for that Ella.” Chase smiled, feeling a warmth in his cold blooded body. The tunnel was now completely lit up and they could see the bottom. Once they reached the sea floor they came to a doorway to the open ocean.

“By the gods…” Ella muttered to herself. Out along the seafloor was not just a town, but a city of merfolk of all shapes and sizes. 

“Honeybun, Chase, may I present to you, the ocean city of Tellonna.” Jana said with the same dramatic energy of their absent tour guide.


	10. Secrets of the Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella, Jana and friends explore the Merfolk city of Tellonna.

The newly-made mermaid and crocodile looked out in awe, slowly swimming out of the tunnel.

“There you are!” Cici and Mizu had been waiting for them just outside the cavern. “We were getting worried you were taking so long.”

“Breakin’ in yer fins slowlike?” The shark asked with a chuckle, “Don’t cha worry. You’ll get yer… “sea legs” before you know it!” He burst into a full throated laugh, enjoying what must have been a favorite joke of his.

Cici let out a sigh, “This, sweetie, is why I normally bring the new arrivals down by myself.”

“Oh you love it!” The shark continued to laugh and kissed the seal woman from behind, earning a chuckle from her. “Ha! Made ya smile! I win!”

Jana couldn’t help but beam at the sharkman cuddling the large seal. Down here, love was always love, no matter who you were. 

Jana turned to talk with Ella about this new world they had entered, only to see that Ella and Chase had already swam down to the seabed, the two of them spinning and weaving as they relished in their newfound swimming abilities. 

Ella twirled and giggled as she reached the sandy dunes that lined the sea floor, whereas Chase crashed down on the sand, as if he was attempting to do an underwater superhero landing.

Jana smiled as she swam down to meet the two dorks, knowing that it was best to let them enjoy the moment. After all, it’s not every day you get to be turned into a mythical sea creature. Ella was now lying on the seabed, gazing up at the sunlight shimmering through the waves, with an expression of sheer bliss and wonder on her face. Jana could just make out the tune that her girlfriend was humming; it was “Part of Your World”, from The Little Mermaid.

Over by the rocks, Chase was prowling around, trying to look menacing, but failing to convincingly hide his dorky grin. He admired his claws, and swished his new tail back and forth. “The world trembles before the might of Chase-Zilla!” the mer-croc muttered to himself.

“This is beautiful!” Ella said, swimming quickly through the open water to get a better look at everything. Once up out of the sand cloud they had kicked up on the seafloor, Ella could see the city glowing like a jewel in the dark water. “Tellonna…” she repeated the name Jana had called it with the reverence of a magic spell. “Does it mean something?”

The shark chuckled, “It’s not as… deep, as you might think. Follow me!” He motioned for the group to swim after him towards a dark outcropping of rock just outside the city, with what seemed to be a road running alongside it. Upon closer inspection Ella and Chase saw that the rock was the remains of a sunken ship. An old wooden vessel that had begun rotting and was overgrown with algae, kelp and barnacles. “Here’s yer answer.” He gestured to the ship as if it was a neon sign explaining everything.

Jana and Cici clearly got it, but Ella and Chase looked at each other in confusion. “What are you… oh!” Ella thought she had the solution after a moment of thought and swam close to the front of the ship on the side facing away from the city and smiled. “Found it! Come have a look Chase!’

The lizard swam close and saw in faded gold paint the message “T-- -ell--onna” written across the wood. “Huh.. So the city is named for this wreck?”

“Not just any wreck!” Jana said, getting into the spirit of things. “Fill in the missing letters Ella. Does the name seem familiar?” Having looked through Ella’s collection of books she knew her girlfriend would kick herself if she didn’t figure this out on her own.

Ella had to admit it did remind her of something… she had a bit of a fascination with pirates, both historical and fictional, so maybe… “... no…” she checked the number of spaces and the name seemed to fit perfectly. “The Belladonna… This is the wreck of The Belladonna!?”

“The very same, little guppy!” Mizu nodded and beamed proudly. “This here is a true treasure from the age of piracy!”

“Pirates? That’s awesome!” Chase said, suddenly much more interested in the discolored pile of old rotten wood than he had been moments before. “Who’s ship was this?”

“You’ve never heard of the Belladonna!” Ella seemed a mix of shocked and outraged that her new friend didn’t know the history here, but now was also excited that she got to talk about it. “This ship belonged to the Ravishing Captain Rosalind! One of the greatest female pirates of the era! Not as flashy or well known as Anne Bonny and the like, but she was amazing!... or at least, I always heard she was amazing.”

“Heard? Don’t you know for sure?” Chase asked, equal parts intrigued and worried by the enthusiasm of the mermaid.

Ella calmed down her fangirling just a little, “Well… Most of what I know about her is from a historic fiction story. It’s not very clear how much of the story is true, and how much was the author.”

“More than you’d think.” Mizu said with an approving nod.

Ella stared at the shark, remembering him saying that the merfolk lived longer than you’d think. “Did… did you know her, Mizu?”

“Know her? Cor, how old do ya think I am?” He grumbled “Ros was long before my time! At least 10 years before I went before the mast meself!”

Jana exchanged a look with her girlfriend “Is 10 years really that long when you’ve been alive that long?”

The shark waved it off, “I was human then! 10 years sure felt like a ruddy long time! But I was of an age to know Ros from stories in the business.”

“Business? Were you a pirate too?” Chase asked this time.

“Of course! Lotsa pirates find their way to pretty little towns like this.” He gestured towards the glowing city, before leaning in to whisper, “Lotsa pirates that had to walk the plank or were tossed overboard, if ya get me meaning.”

The group exchanged a look that said that they got it just fine. 

“I always appreciated the merfolk for saving as many drowning souls as they could.” Jana said with a small shudder. “My gods weren’t very kind to drowned souls… Trapped forever in the twirling nets of the goddess Ran… It always sounded worse than Helheim to me.” Ella reached over and took her hand to comfort her, receiving a smile in return. 

Cici nodded her approval and motioned for the group to follow her towards the city, “It’s good work. The sea is powerful and dangerous, but it can also be beautiful, life giving. A place for a second chance.” 

They swam in silence for a while before Chase spoke to Ella, “Can you tell me more about that ship? If I’m going to live down here, I’d like to know about it.”

“Well, Mizu can definitely tell the tale better than I could, but I’ll do what I can.” said Ella, as she recalled the many stories she had read about the famous ship. “The Belladonna was meant to be a slave ship, meaning it was built to be very fast and hold a lot of cargo and supplies, since… Well the “cargo” would die if the captain didn’t hurry his passage. But Ros and a few friends stole the ship before it could launch on its first voyage! After that, they spent a few years doing the standard pirate stuff, growing their numbers, raiding ships, the usual activities.”

“I like her already!” said Chase, as Ella continued the story.

“Eventually, they attacked a naval vessel and found something onboard that they hadn’t expected; the captain’s wife!” Ella grinned. This was her favourite part of the story. “Ros recruited the woman, taking her with them rather than leave the poor girl with a man who seemed so cruel to her… I did mention that most of my information comes from a romance novel right?”

Chase smirked and chuckled, “Yeah I think I can imagine just what sort of story this is. And so the captain’s wife and the pirate fell in love and ran away together?”

“Yep, at least in my book’s version. Historical accounts never seem to mention a romance between them, just the rescue and a lifetime partnership as pirates. Still cute, but less fun.”

“Daft landlubbers! Those eggheads spoil so many of our best stories.” Mizu cursed as he was listening in. “Ros and Sonya was a love story for the ages! In fact pirates were far more romantic than any of those tossers writing it down would ever want you to know.”

“Really?! Yes!!” Ella pumped her fist. “It’s so great having one of your ships be confirmed as cannon!” Ella said before blushing at how big a dork she must sound. “But… wait if they were active in the Caribbean, what’s their ship doing here?”

Mizu shrugged “That’s a long tale, lass. I can tell you that story another time if you really want to know.”

As they swam Mizu told Chase of his own days at sea, but Ella was only half listening. She was watching Jana, who seemed rather aloof for the last few minutes, as if caught up in thought. Leaving Cici to lead the way, and Mizu to talk Chase’s reptilian ears off, Ella ducked back to swim beside her girlfriend. “Doubloon for your thoughts, angelfish?”

The genie smiled, “Oh gods, are Mizu’s puns getting to you? I’m fine. I’m just… thinking about that other genie down here. And wondering what the odds are he’s… you know… my lamp’s previous tenant.”

“Your… Oh…” Yeah that would be trouble. “Well I’d say the odds are pretty low, right? I mean there have to be a lot of other genies in the world. It has to be a different guy. Besides, it was a long time ago. If he’s free and mortal then… I don’t think he’s still around.”

“I guess…” Jana responded with a small flinch, hoping Ella missed the subtle reaction to the topic of death. She quickly tried to change the subject, “I’m also wondering if I’ll run into another old master down here. You remember the pirate I was with before Sofia? He wished for all the treasure of the sea. I introduced him to a mermaid to ask if he could have the treasure. He ran away with her instead of taking the gold.”

“Good for him picking love over money!” Ella said, squeezing Jana’s hand.

“Good for him, less fun for me.” She smiled, returning the pressure, “See his crew sailed off with all his stuff when he didn’t come back, my lamp included. So I had to leave to keep an eye on it before I could finish helping him. Never knew how he ended up. Never really found out since I was stuck in the lamp till Sofia found it after that.”

“I hope he’s still down here. What was his name?”

“Captain ‘Blood ’n’ Guts’ Billy.”

Ella wondered if it was possible to snort water through your nose if you were breathing it. She was struggling not to laugh as she continued, “Interesting name. Sounds like a real character.”

“Strong personalities are a big requirement for pirates. Officers especially.” Jana trailed off as a party of various merfolk swam out to meet them, waving and cheering for the newcomers. Ella saw people walking along the ground on crab legs, people propelling themselves through the water with fins or tentacles, and some that seemed more mythical than human. One woman waving at them seemed to be made entirely of water herself, only a faint outline distinguishing her shape and features. Jana later identified this girl as an Undine, a variety of water spirit. 

“Welcome to Tellonna!” An oddly beautiful young man with long flowing hair of jellyfish tendrils called as the group came to a halt. This new arrival seemed almost human if not for his hair. He wore no shirt, only a skirt of woven kelp. “I am called Box. It’s always a joy to have new residents join our city!”

“Thank you very much Box.” Jana responded to him with a bow, “But only our reptilian friend Chase is here to stay.”

“Ah, more’s the pity!” He seemed genuinely disappointed. “Still, I’d be more than happy to show you around our fair city. Chase looks like he might want a rest. Follow me.” He rose up from the ground, swimming effortlessly in front of the group. 

The thing that fascinated Ella and Chase most about the city, as they followed yet another odd guide, was the use of vertical space. From a distance, Tellonna looked like just any collection of skyscrapers and towers. But up close, they could see that streets, houses and shops occurred at all levels of the structures. It was like the most beautiful parts of New York City had been piled on top of one another and then were coated in glowing jewels and pearls. All around them was life! Families played fetch with a barracuda in a dog collar, a mermaid and a large girl with lobster claws and tail sat outside a little cafe. Ella even spotted a small turtle-like creature with long thin hands and a shaved head, a Japanese Kappa if she wasn’t mistaken, setting up an awning outside a little sushi shop.

That last sight gave the girl pause, and she turned to Jana to quietly ask a question. “Merfolk eat fish?”

Jana shrugged, “It’s not that different from humans eating other mammals. But since some fish are popular pets down here, I’d wagger there are more vegetarians under water than on land.”

As Ella thought about some of the implications of this, she found that Box was leading them towards a building towards the bottom of one of the middle towers. A glowing sign out front proclaimed it as “Son-air”. Once inside a hostess with octopus tentacles for legs was waiting to greet them. “Welcome to Son-air. Would you like wet or dry seating today?”

“Relatively dry please, Attina.” Box spoke for the party. “We need at least heads above water.”

“Very good, if you’ll swim this way.” She grabbed a stack of menus and led them inside. It seemed that this establishment was only partially underwater. As they swam towards the ceiling they found a large air pocket with several tables floating on the top of the water, and even a few on a small section of completely dry land towards the back. On their way to the table, Ella also spotted a stage down on the seafloor and a band setting up to play. 

“Ohhh. Sonar, like music. Son-air….” Chase spoke aloud to himself, just putting the pun together. 

“Bit slow on the joke, huh friend?” Ella chuckled playfully. “This place is great!”

“Oh you haven’t seen the best part yet.” Cici said, as the group breached the water’s surface. 

They now found themselves in a large section of cave, with a floating piece of wood serving as a table. Attina placed the menus down on the table, before heading back down into the water.

“Just wait till the band starts playing! You’ve never heard music till you’ve heard it underwater.” Box smiled to himself as he pushed his long hair out of his eyes.

“The music’s good, food’s better!” Mizu quickly looked through the menu, eyes seeming to gleam with excitement.

Around that moment another mermaid, this one with the lower body of a stingray appeared from under the water and spoke to everyone. “Hello everyone. My name is Alana, and I’ll be taking care of you today! But if you have any questions and I’m busy, you can ask any of my sisters if you need help.”

“Wait a minute…” Ella cut in with an idea. “Attina, Alana… Aren’t those the names of the sisters from...?” 

The waitress smiled, “The Little Mermaid. That’s right. I have six sisters and a brother named Eric. My mother used to live on the land, and “The Little Mermaid” was her favorite movie. She was obsessed with it!” 

Mizu nodded his agreement and smiled at the memory. “Oh, we remember! Her mother, Pat, sang “Under the Sea” all day every day when she first got down here.”

Alana smiled, “She got some payback with my youngest sister, Andrina. She became obsessed with Frozen. Would not let “Let It Go” go! Anyway, let me know if you need anything.” She gave a little bow and swam off to help another customer. 

“How did you connect her name to Little Mermaid?” Chase asked, casually glancing at the menu.

“Ariel had six sisters, all also with A names.” Ella explained, “I’m not going to lie, for half a moment I wondered if the movie was a true story, and I was meeting one of Ariel’s actual sisters. Her mom being a fan and naming her kids after the movie makes much more sense.”

“And Eric was the prince from the story, right?” Chase asked and received a nod in confirmation. “How exactly do merfolk take depictions of your people like that?” He asked Box, curious but a bit nervous, as if it might be a sore issue.

The jellyfish boy shrugged, “I can’t speak for everyone on that. Most of us like the film, much better than the book, that’s a real downer. But the movie sorta whitewashes us a little, so it hasn’t exactly aged well.”

Ella looked around. It was true to an extent. She had seen no two merfolk that looked alike since coming down here. In the movie, everyone was white, everyone even had the same tails except for the villain! “Were you involved with that movie too angel?”

Jana gave a little laugh, “To an extent. All those movies at Disney I just got the ball rolling. The writers, artists and studio took it from there. I was rarely happy with the final product.”

She would have kept going, but they could see lights come on the stage under the water. It was hard to make out all the activity below them, but they could distinguish a singer and a few musicians getting in position and heard the muffled sound of applause from the underwater tables. The group was silent as they prepared to listen.

The music started faintly, working its way up to the air chamber through speakers in the walls. It was very pretty and soothing, but Ella couldn’t see what was so spectacular. She turned her attention to speak to their host and was surprised to find that Mizu, Cici, Box and Jana had disappeared.

“Jana? Sweetie?”

She looked around as she heard a splashing and Jana came up from under the water. “Chase! Bunny! You have to hear this!” Without waiting for her girlfriend to respond, the eel girl grabbed her by both arms and pulled her under the water.

The song that had been pleasant and simple now soared with depth and complexity. A single voice rang out like a full choir of echoing voices, and the simple instruments were a symphony!

“Odin’s eye…” Ella muttered to herself in wonder. “How is this possible?”

“Sound Waves travel differently in the water.” Box smiled with pride. He also seemed happy to be back in his element, his hair free to float around him and not clinging to his face. 

“This is wonderful!” Ella clapped with the rest of the crowd as the band finished their first song.

“This is nothing. Wait till they’ve warmed up!” Cici chuckled.

Ella looked over to Chase to see if he was enjoying this as much as she was, but was surprised to see his eyes were on the door rather than the stage, and she smiled as she saw why. A merman of about their own age had entered the dining room and was looking about. Both his tanned shirtless human body and spiked fish tail were covered in red and white stripes. His hair was short and white and he had sharp teeth and claws similar to Jana’s own. 

“A lion fish, if I’m not mistaken…” Ella chuckled and gave her friend a knowing smile. Even though she preferred girls, she could understand Chase’s attraction.

“What is he doing here…” Chase nervously weezed out, eyes unmoving from his rescuer. 

“I invited him.” Mizu said, enjoying the reptile’s embarrassment. “He’s the whole reason you’re here after all. Thought he’d want to say hi.”

“You could have warned me first!” he hissed, leaning in close, hoping that the conversation didn’t carry as well through the water as the music. “You know, given me a few days… or months to get used to my new body so I don’t embarrass myself in front of him!” 

“Hey come on Chase-zilla. You got this!” Ella gripped her friend’s rough hand behind his back as the lionfish reached them. 

“Chase? Is it really you? I wasn’t sure if Mizu had gotten it right. I didn’t expect you down here for another week!” The exotic young man had his own music in his voice with just the hint of an accent. 

“Hi Lance!” The gator said a little too loudly, blushing as his voice cracked. “Yeah I got a little help.” He was awkwardly silent for a moment, “Help from my friends here. This is Ella, she’s a shapeshifter, and Jana, she’s a genie.” 

“A genie? Like the old shark that lives in the trench?” He asked after shaking hands with both of them. 

“From the sound of it, yeah.” Jana smiled back, trying her best not to show the little tension that had just come into her body. She looked up as the band started to play again, a much slower song, and couples were getting up from tables and swimming out to the dance floor. She smiled, getting an idea, “Would you like to dance Bunny?”

Ella gave Chase’s hand one more squeeze for comfort before letting go. “I’d love to. If you’ll excuse us.” 

The girls swam out to the dance floor and were happy to see that Mizu and Cici had decided to join them. Moments later they saw the jellyfish excuse himself from the group. This would give the boys either privacy to talk, or a hint to get up and dance themselves. It was only then that Ella remembered to be nervous about dancing in public for her own sake. “You might need to help me Angel.” She tried her best to whisper. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Not to worry dear.” Jana said with a comforting smile. “Underwater is a great place to learn to dance. No chance of stepping on each other’s toes for one thing.” She kissed Ella softly on the forehead and proceeded to lead the dance. 

Ella held herself tight to Jana’s body. She was colder in this form, but the closeness was still comforting as they twirled and swayed to the music. Ella wasn’t entirely sure how things worked for ballroom dancing normally, but she was pretty certain it wouldn’t include dancing upside down or doing loops through the water.

“We should do this again on land some time soon.” Ella said as the song ended and they applauded with the rest of the dancers, all of them waiting for a moment to see if the next tune was worth a second dance.

“Yeah… Yeah I’d like that.” Jana responded hesitantly in the relative silence. Though she had danced very well it was clear that Jana had her mind occupied again.

Ella thought she knew what was going on. She waited for the band to start a livelier, more energized song before speaking. “You want to sneak out of here? Go meet this other genie in the tench?”

Jana bit her lip before nodding. “Even if he’s not the one I knew… there’s so much I could ask a free genie…” 

Ella looked first to Cici and Mizu cutting a rug, as Lance convinced a hesitant Chase to get up to the dance floor. “I don’t think we’ll be missed for a little while… I’m up for sneaking away from the tour if you are.” 

Jana smiled and mouthed a quiet thank you and took her lover by the hand, navigating their way out of the club and back to the streets. 

__________________________________________________________________

“The Trench” that Lance alluded to was much easier to find than they had thought. It was just a canyon on the sea floor outside the city limits. The space seemed unnaturally dark and quiet compared to the light and life not too far away. 

“So… We’re looking for some sort of shark, down… in that.” Ella couldn’t help but be frightened just a little and was comforted as Jana gripped her hand. 

“Don’t worry sweetie. I got this.” She snapped a finger and her eel tail started glowing as she moved. “There. Should be plenty of light…. What’s up?” She asked, noticing Ella making a face.

“Nothing!” she said quickly. She had been trying not to laugh. The tail undoubtedly would help them, but she couldn’t help but imagine a meme she had seen involving a couple walking about at night helped by light up sneakers. She felt like she might have just seen the merfolk equivalent of that joke. “Let’s get going.” 

Ella tried to compensate for her initial hesitation by leading the way down into the darkness. “If he’s actually living in this thing he has to be on the bottom. We go straight down and we should find him easily from there.” That is if he’s the only thing down here… Her fear returned for a moment as she saw a large crab scuttle along a rock wall and mistook it for something else.

“Yeah… I don’t think there’s going to exactly be a neighborhood association down here…” Jana said, sensing the thought Ella had left unspoken. “Let’s talk about something else babe…” She shivered at a growing cold the deeper down they went. “What are you thinking of painting next? One of the blank rooms maybe?”

Ella smiled and thought. “Hmm I do need something eye catching for the foyer. Maybe a nice bright spring garden. Wild flowers all over… But before I do that, I think I’d like to try my hand at painting you.”

Jana had not expected that, “Me? Like as a model?”

Ella kissed her quickly on the lips, thankful for the warmth it sent through both of them. “Well I could paint on you like a canvas, but you’d work wonderfully as a model too.”

Jana’s blue skinned cheeks turned purple with blush, “Be serious.”

“I am being serious, Angel! You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! Even part fish with claws and fangs you are a treasure! A masterwork that should already be hanging in a gallery with the other works of art!”

Jana laughed, blushing even redder. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you Bunny?... Don’t stop now you are doing so well!” 

Ella laughed with her, the tension of their surroundings momentarily broken before they heard a voice from the darkness. It was barely a whisper, but even that seemed to echo off the walls in a way that their laughter hadn’t.

“Who’s there… What do you want here…”

The girls looked to each other, then around in the darkness. “We had heard a genie lived in this trench. We wanted to talk to him.” Ella responded as Jana seemed unable to move.

“You heard wrong… the genie died… Go away… I don’t have the magic you want…”

Jana gripped Ella’s hand almost painfully tight and whispered. “That voice… I know that voice!” she took a deep breath and shouted into the darkness. “It’s not your magic I want! It’s you Jynn! Come out and face me you spineless bottom feeder!”

“Jynn?” Ella repeated a bit nervously. 

“It’s him alright…” Jana growled as a shape emerged from the darkness and into the light. The anger died on Jana’s face upon seeing him. 

The lower half was that of a long thin shark with mottled grey skin. This same skin covered the entirety of his human half making the man in front of them seem to be almost rotting. His sharp teeth were few, his limbs were emaciated, and his eyes were milky and probably close to blind. He was either a greenland shark, or a corpse barely able to move through the water. “It is you… My how the years have changed you…” She used her magic to make her human half seem more like her natural self for a moment.

The shark weezed a faint laugh and tired to smile, but the action seemed to hurt him. “Well now… What are the odds of seeing you again? Welcome to Tellonna, Mistress. Have you come to wait for me to die too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered writing a complete separate story about Ravishing Captain Rosalind and the Belladonna. Let me know in the comments if you’d be interested to read it.


	11. The One that Got Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk with a ghost from the past.

After a moment of tense silence, the old shark motioned for them to follow him and swam back into the darkness. The girls hesitated for just a moment and swam after the strange guide. “So it is him…” Ella wasn’t sure if finding him would be a good or a bad thing.

“It’s him alright. I might have only seen him for a few days, but I will never forget him… Even if he has… changed since then.”

“I’m guessing you mean more than just his legs being gone?” Ella asked, trying to lighten the mood. 

The joke didn’t seem to hit as Jana responded straight faced. “I mean his skin, his eyes, the way he breaths. Yes he’s been alive as a free genie for centuries but… I don’t know… I thought merfolk aged more gracefully than this… Makes me wonder if something is up.”

Ella tried again, “You called him Jynn. What does that mean?”

“It’s a different name for genies. It was all I knew him by when I was the master…” Jana considered that last day of her freedom and the beginning of a very new life. “I really should have asked him his name… I didn’t even think about it back then…”

As they reached the far end of the canyon, they found a section of a sunken ship had been repurposed for his home. The space seemed about as inviting as a dirty tent, but the Jynn led them inside through a hole Ella recognized was normally intended for the lower deck cannons. Inside wasn’t much better. Equally dilapidated, equally dirty, but at least there was a little light for them from glowing undersea algae. 

“I’d offer you something to eat but I don’t keep food in the house. I find it only makes me last longer.” The old creature turned to face them and leaned his back against a wall of the ship. “Now then… I’m assuming you came to this city to find me, right girl? Looking for revenge? To kill me for what I did? You are welcome to try.” He held out his shaking, shriveled hands and counted off on his fingers. “I’ve been shot, stabbed, clubbed, and tried countless poisons. If you’re really set on killing me, you might try cutting off my head. I haven’t tried that yet.”

The girls exchanged another look. This was not what they had expected to find. “You… think I’m here to kill you?”

“Are you not?” The old shark almost sounded disappointed.

Jana moved a bit closer. “With everything you put me through you definitely deserve a punishment, but you know a genie can’t kill.”

He let out another weak wheezing laugh, “Of course I knew that! I thought that’s what you brought him for!” He gestured at a very shocked Ella.

“Excuse me!? That is my GIRLFRIEND you miserable hunk of flotsam and you will treat HER with the respect SHE deserves!” Jana growled out, emphasizing all the appropriate words to hammer the point home to the jerk.

“Pff, call yourself what you like.” He shrugged off the anger, not even a little put off. However he did seem a little shook when he saw just how hurt Ella looked from his comment. He let out a sigh that was interrupted by a hacking cough. Once he’d regained his breath he spoke, “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for miss…?”

“Ella.” She said her name with pride, a point she would not negotiate.

“Alright then, Ella, Mistress,” He gave a little bow of his head to each of them in turn, “I ask again, what do you want with me?” He pointed a gnarled finger at Jana, “You said you aren’t here for revenge, and you know I’m a free genie, I have no more magic left. What else could you want? The quicker you tell me, the quicker I can get back to waiting to turn to dust!”

“Jynn, I…” She paused in thought. Sure he was a bit of a jerk but no need to be a jerk back. She tried for some civility. “Do you have a preferred name you would want me to use?”

The shark was a bit surprised by the question. “I lost my real name long before the day we met… Some of the young fish around here call me Grey. Grey will do.”

“Grey then. We didn’t come here to antagonize you. We came to see the mermaids. We are only here now because we were told that a free genie lived in the trench and… well as a genie who might be free soon…”

“You will be free, angel. There’s no might about it.” Ella added in a pause, gripping her girlfriend’s hand.

“Right!” Her voice cracked a little as she tried to show her enthusiasm for the idea. “Well, trapped genie to free genie, I just… well wanted to talk… had a few questions you know…”

“I see…” Grey caught the tension in Jana’s voice but wasn’t sure if the other girl had. “Well… I suppose your current position is my fault… and I am one of the only beings in the world who can answer those questions… very well… what do you want to know?”

Jana took a deep breath and held Ella’s hand tighter. “First things first… do you… do you know what my real name is? I have been going by Jana since the 1930s.”

Grey sadly shook his head. As annoyed as he had been with the girls interrupting his peace, he knew the way questions like this could eat away at a person over the centuries. “I’m sorry Jana… The day we met, you didn’t ask my name and I didn’t ask yours… I can barely even remember what your first two wishes were… all I can remember is your third wish; magic power to help defend your home… and how I saw it as the opportunity I needed…” He sounded ashamed of his actions.

“I see… I didn’t think you would know, but it was worth a shot…” She was quiet for a moment as she worked past her disappointment. “Next question; how are you still alive after so long? Do all genies live this long?”

He had a dark smile. “Well I am only speaking from personal experience on this, but I don’t think most other free Jynn live longer than humans would… I’m still here because of a bit of… What is the word? I’ve heard some call it Karma? You see, the wish I made that got me stuck in the lamp was wishing for immortality. Apparently when I got free, I was still immortal. It was great for about, oh a decade or so. Then… you start noticing the drawbacks… my body keeps aging like any mortal man. Your senses dull, your organs stop working. Nothing can kill you, but you still feel the pain of your body trying to die… At first I thought my mistake was that I should have wished for eternal youth as well as eternal life to avoid the deterioration, but I learned that was equally futile. Life has so little meaning when it goes on forever…” 

He met Jana’s eye. “I have had centuries to think about what I did to you. I can’t help but feel like this poor excuse for living is punishment, from the gods, destiny, the lamp itself? I don’t know… but I’m sorry for what I did to you… I don’t expect forgiveness. I don’t deserve it…”

“No. No you don’t.” Jana said simply, “What you did to me was horrible. You tore me away from my life, the only world I knew just to save yourself!” She clenched her fist to try and stop the tears from coming, “You deserve punishment for what you did to me…” She took a deep breath to steady herself and reached out a surprisingly gentle hand and put it on his arm. “But you don’t deserve to suffer like this forever either.”

Grey stared at the hand, then up at Jana. “I… thank you…” there was an almost amicable silence between them compared to their air of the room when the conversation had first started.

After a moment Jana spoke again, “How did you even end up here of all places Grey?”

“Walked.” He said simply, like that one word was all the explanation he felt like giving.

“I’m sorry… you walked from Dublin to Hawaii?” Ella asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

Grey snarled. “Don’t be silly, b-... Sorry, girl-” 

Ella held up a hand to stop him for a moment “How did you even know… about that anyway? No one else down here has said a thing…” She had been so proud for passing as a girl to Chase earlier, but now she was afraid that she had missed something in her transformation and that everyone was just being polite, maybe even secretly judging her…

“It’s nothing you’re doing Ella.” He clarified quickly. “I might not have magic anymore but I recognize it. I can see it’s purpose… and… Well I thought if I made you both angry maybe you’d leave me alone…”

“I see…” She didn’t like it, but she did understand. “So… no real problem with me?”

“As a woman? Of course not. Transgender people have been around for longer than I have after all. It’s just after being an ass, lashing out at anyone who tries to get close for as long as I have… it’s kinda hard to turn it off.”

“Well… being an ass isn’t quite as bad as being an actual bigot.” She gave a little shrug, “please continue.”

He gave a little nod. They could actually hear the joint pop and crack with the movement. “Well to start with, I wasn’t in Dublin when I started. I think it was… Monte Carlo? Somewhere around there. I thought trying to find new things to do I could get some joy back in living. It only helped for a few days. I had had enough, so I took my winnings from the casino, filled up my boots with all the gold and silver to weigh me down… and walked into the sea.” 

He pointed to a corner and they saw a ratty old pair of rubber boots that had been sitting there long enough for algae and barnacles to grow over them. “I hadn’t counted on the magic keeping me alive, allowing me to breath, or adapting my body to the cold or the water pressure… I think it even made me taste bad because squids, whales and sharks won’t even try to bite me! When the magic transformed me, I started to swim rather than walk, hoping that some dark creature of the deep, or even simple exhaustion would end me… I gave up when I got here. Figured the only thing with a hope of killing me was time… so I found a dark hole to wait in…”

The girls looked at each other and seemed to exchange a quiet thought. Ella gave a small nod in understanding and Jana spoke again, “There might be something we could do to help you if you want it.”

“Do you have a grenade for me to swallow? Or a big propeller I could swim into? That might do the job!” He actually sounded excited again.

“No, we won’t do anything to help you kill yourself, but we might be able to help you find peace. You see… Ella here found out the secret rule.”

“The secret… bonus wishes? How does that help? Our kind of magic can’t kill.”

Ella moved forward “It can’t kill you, but it can undo your last wish.”

He was silent for a moment. With his one track mind for a solution it was clear he hadn’t thought of this. “You mean…”

Jana nodded, “We could make you mortal again Grey. Your life would be guaranteed an ending. Maybe you could even find a little purpose again in the time you’d have left.”

Grey seemed to seriously consider the matter and looked up, first to Jana, then Ella. “Miss Ella, would you mind stepping outside for a minute? I have a few things I’d like to discuss with Jana before I make a final decision on if I’ll accept your offer.”

Ella was a bit put off, and a little afraid to be out in the dark alone, but she realized this was something she would have to do. “Yeah… Yeah ok. Just shout when you are ready for me again.” She smiled at Jana and stole a quick kiss to keep her brave before swimming back out the gun port.

“A very sweet girl.” Grey said approvingly.

“You don’t know the half of it…” Jana sighed before turning to face him again, “Now what is this about?” 

Grey spoke just a little more quietly than before. “At my age there is a fair chance that wishing me mortal could kill me right away. My heart could stop, my lungs deflate, the magic holding me together dispersing could leave me as a Grey shaped cloud of dust. I thought that you should say what you want to say without the little woman to worry you.”

“I…” Jana looked over her shoulder nervously, “Alright… fine. You got me… I’m afraid to be freed! I… I don’t know who I’d be without the magic after so long! Ella is such a sweet girl! She has been offering to free me from the lamp since day one and I have been coming up with excuses to stall it... She has been through so much in her life and… What good could I possibly be to her without my magic? What good am I to anyone without my power?” Try as she might not to cry, she couldn’t stop the droplets coming from her eyes almost like bubbles.

Grey was quiet for a long moment, “You are very selfless for a genie, you know that Jana? You’re willing to endure imprisonment for the sake of this girl?”

Jana all but waved off the comment. “It’s not imprisonment with her… I have my own room, my own things. She asks my opinion before we do things. I haven’t had someone be this kind to me in decades…”

Grey was quiet for a moment. “But it’s still her final word that decides how your magic is used.”

“I… Well… yeah.”

Grey nodded. “And you still have to be careful and aware of anything that might happen to your lamp to be safe.”

She nodded, not liking where this line of thought was going.

“You aren’t free, girl.” The old shark shrugged. “The cage has just gotten larger. That young woman out there I’m sure is wonderful, but she will age and you will not. She can grow and you will not... Is keeping your magic worth it for all that?”

“... No… I love her…” Jana stammered. “I want to stay with her… But…” 

“It’s frightening. I know…” He looked away as he remembered something from long ago. “I wanted my freedom so bad I didn’t know what to do with it when I had it. I just knew anything was better than I had been living. Your case is very different… What will you choose? A short, tough but meaningful life with Ella as equals? Or a longer sadder, more comfortable existence where the tough choice will come again at an even harder time… I can’t decide for you… But… I might be able to offer you a little hope.”

“What do you mean?” Jana said, the offer of hope derailing her internal debate over the decision. 

“Remember how I said I got my immortality?” Grey asked. “My last wish. Remember your last wish?”

“... Magic powers…” muttered Jana, remembering the fateful wish that had trapped her. “But… what powers? You pulled me into the lamp before I could even try to do anything magical!”

The shark gave a small apologetic shrug. “I’m honestly not sure what you could do… Nothing as powerful as a true genie unfortunately. It could be anything from controlling the weather to changing your hair color for all I know. But if you have some magic as a human… maybe you could learn to do more with the right help.” 

“Learn magic the hard way from the ground up…” she considered the idea for a moment and nodded, “I might actually know someone who could help with that… Just need to keep my full powers long enough to get back up to Canada and ask her.”

Grey smiled, “Well it looks like both of us have a plan for moving forward now. Shall we call Miss Ella back in?”

“One thing first Grey…” Jana pulled back her hand and slapped the old shark across the face as hard as she could. “There. Now I’m satisfied and can have some closure. I wanted to do that while you were immortal just so I didn’t break your neck.”

“Oh yeah… Without the magic that would have broken something…” He grumbled, rubbing his cheek with one hand, but not complaining about the pain. He knew he deserved it. If this one personal touch was all the punishment Jana felt like giving him, he considered himself lucky. 

The genie and former genie looked up as Ella swam back in, “What was that? I heard something like the crack of a whip.”

“Just the sound of closure bunny.” Jana said, swimming over to her girlfriend who decided not to ask why ‘closure’ had left a large red hand print on Grey’s face. 

“Did you make your decision Grey?” Ella asked, taking Jana by the hand as she stood close by.

“I have. If you really feel like wasting a wish helping a crusty old fossil like me… I would be forever grateful… Well, maybe not forever, but for however long these old bones stay together.” The girls caught only the faintest pleading note in the back of his voice, and maybe a spark of desperation in his eyes. 

“Alright then.” Ella squeezed Jana’s hand a little tighter. “I wish to make Grey mortal again.”

Jana snapped his fingers. A light glow seemed to radiate from around the shark for a moment before dissipating. He seemed unchanged, except for maybe his eyes being a little brighter than before. He was hesitant to move to see if his body would hold together going through the water. He tested it by flexing his fingers, then when those didn’t break apart he moved his arm. “All new aches and pains…” He said in quiet wonder, “Or maybe I’d forgotten what hurt after so long…” 

He looked up at Ella and Jana and thanked them as equals. “You have no idea what this means to me! I feel like I could take on the world! I feel... I actually feel really hungry… God the things you don’t notice when you’re immortal!” He swam over and grabbed the two boots from the floor, ripping them up and disturbing the carpet of algae. From out of the boots came a handful of gold coins, as well as a small crab.

Grey seized the coins and crab as they floated down in front of him. He examined the crustacean for a moment, before attempting to bite into it. This only resulted in his teeth failing to crack the hard shell, and the crab pinching the shark on the nose, before dropping down and scuttling away.

“Damn…” Grey huffed, angrily rubbing his nose. “Didn’t think these teeth would be that weak. I’m a shark, for god's sake!”

Ella and Jana both tried not to laugh. Both of them were relieved at not having to see the poor crab get eaten alive in front of them.

“Those coins might help.” Ella offered, helpfully. “We saw a couple of sushi places over in the town.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably head back.” said Jana. “The others might be wondering where we got to.”

“Right…” He examined the coins in his hand, then looked to see the second boot had even more gold in it. “I don’t even know what they use for money down here… Let’s hope I can use this to pay for something.” He swam for the exit and called back over his shoulder, “Come on girls! Diner is on me if any of this works!”  
__________________________________________________________________

They made their way back to Tellonna quickly enough. It was a comforting thought to see Grey for the first time in decades appreciating the little things, like the light and warmth of the waters above his dark hovel in the deep. 

They were surprised to see three of their companions swimming out to meet them from the outskirts of the city; Box, Chase and Lance. 

Ella smiled, happy to see the lizard and the fish were holding hands, but she was a little surprised to see Box had… changed since they had last seen them. The jellyfish, who had been very clearly male in the restaurant, now wore a dress out of the same material as the skirt. Their skin had changed to a soft blue and their figure had shifted. Ella didn’t like to make assumptions, but Box now looked completely female.

“There you are!” Chase called, sighing with relief. “We were getting worried.”

“Sorry Chase. I was… meeting an old acquaintance.” She nodded at Grey who gave a sheepish wave toward the three newcomers. 

“Hello Grey. Don’t normally see you out and about.” Lance said with a warm smile.

“Yes well… After talking with these young ladies I think I might make an effort to get out a little more often… Enjoy the golden years a little. Speaking of which,” He held up one of his coins, “Know any restaurant I could use these to buy something to eat?”

Box swam over and took one coin to examine, “Oh yes, you could get a lot with one of these.” Their voice had changed too. “We have our fair share of gold down here from old ships. We are used to using them all over the place.” 

Ella cleared her throat. “Um… Excuse me... Box? Um… You are Box, right? Or does he have a sister?”

The jellyfish laughed at the nature of the question. “Yes Ella, I’m still Box. Don’t worry. I’m genderfluid. I just shifted to female earlier.”

“Genderfluid!? You’re trans too!” Ella was still a bit confused, but also excited now.

The jellyfish girl laughed. “Down here, lots of folks are genderfluid. Similar to how some humans are, only in our case, our bodies shift as well.”

“Y’know how some fish can change their sex if they need to?” added Lance. “Well, us merfolk can do it too, only more frequently, and sometimes a little more randomly.”

“Indeed.” said Box. “It’s why I had to excuse myself earlier while you were dancing. I could feel a shift coming, and it’s something of a faux pas to just shift in public like that.”

“That’s so cool!” Chase cut in. “The people down here don’t have the same hang ups about gender as the surface world, and between that, and the magic all over the place, people can adjust their identity anytime they want!”

Box giggled at how caught up her new friends were getting. “It’s always fun to see our new arrivals be so happy and impressed by something that’s so normal to us. Gender and sexuality are as changeable to us as the water, and fluidity is as natural as breathing.”

Ella could almost feel tears welling up inside her at that thought. And just when she thought this city was as beautiful as it could possibly get! Jana put an arm around her, “Didn’t I tell you you would love this place, bunny?”

“It’s wonderful! If I could bring my paint down here I’d consider moving in myself… But I’m assuming oil paint in the ocean is a bad idea.” She nuzzled against Jana’s shoulder in the embrace. 

The moment was ruined by a loud gurgling noise that made everyone look up. “What was that?” Chase asked, “A whale?”

“Almost…” Grey raised his hand sheepishly. “Sorry, it was my stomach. I did mention I was hungry.”

The group shared a little laugh and led the old man to the sushi shop they had swam past earlier. As Grey ordered one of everything on the menu, saying they could all help themselves and to whatever he wasn’t currently eating, Chase, Box and Lance stayed back with the girls to find a table. 

Lance cleared his throat and looked at Jana. “I’m sorry if this is awkward to bring up. I had meant to ask you about this earlier but you said you were a genie too correct? Cici even said that you’ve been to this city before?”

“That’s right.” Jana nodded, curious about where this idea might be going.

The lion fish took a deep breath, apparently to calm his nerves, “You wouldn’t happen to have known one… ‘Blood ‘n Guts Billy’ would you?”

Jana and Ella’s expressions must have been priceless. The look of shock told Lance that the girls had indeed heard of the infamous pirate. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” he chuckled. “You see… He’s my grandpa.”

“Your grandpa?” Jana repeated, “That’s amazing! How is that old sea dog?”

“In better shape than your friend I’d say.” He nodded to Grey who was crying tears of joy eating an entire spicy tuna roll at once. 

“I’m glad to hear he’s alive. I was never sure if things would work out between him and that pretty young dolphin girl. She talked him into settling down after all?”

Lance laughed “Settled down? Not even a little. Grandpa Bill and grandma Echo have almost never stopped moving. Those two have seen the entire world and only stop home long enough to decide which of the little ones they’ll take with them on the next trip!”

Jana smiled at Ella, “With what I remember of Billy, that actually makes a lot more sense. Did they have a lot of kids?”

“Tons by human standards, not too much by merfolk levels,” he tried his best to count off on his fingers, “My grandmother was one of 6. My mom has only three siblings, but 20 cousins, and I’m the eldest of 7. I won’t even try to count my cousins and second cousins.”

Jana just smiled, happy the old pirate had so many to care for him, but the number seemed to break Ella and Chase a little. “Big family…” Ella said eventually.

“You have six siblings?” Chase whispered in quiet wonder. “I was an only child… what’s it like having that big a family?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t really think about it. Most merfolk have lots of siblings, so it just feels normal to me.” 

“But didn’t you say you were the oldest?” asked Chase. “You must’ve had a few years as an only child, before your siblings came along, right?”

Lance smiled. “I still had lots of cousins, honey!” The merman giggled. “A lot of us lived together, so it wasn’t that different from having siblings.”

Ella couldn’t help picking up on what Lance had just called Chase. “Honey?” She repeated, “Does this mean you two are a thing now?”

Chase blushed a deep green, as he tried to mutter a response. “Wha-?! Oh…! Well I…”

Lance grinned, only blushing a little as he looked up at the stammering mer-croc. “I’m more than happy to give us a try if you are, cutie!” He held out a hand for Chase to take.

The mer-croc looked at the merman, blushing deeply, before smiling and taking his hand. “I guess we’re a couple now.” he said, smiling at the others.

“Good for you two!” cheered Box, who had been enjoying the show from her side of the table.

Grey made a grunting noise (possibly a compliment?) as he carried on eating.

“That’s pretty quick, isn’t it?” Ella whispered to Jana, as the two boys gazed into each other's eyes. “I mean, they only met once before, a few weeks ago. Now they meet up for a day, and they’re talking about dating.”

Jana smiled wide, laughing to herself as she leaned in and whispered back “Princess, you do remember we only met two days ago right? I don’t think we are in any place to judge. Hell, we moved so fast we were living and sleeping together BEFORE we started dating!”

Ella was silent for a beat. “... Good point…” had it really only been two days since she had found this angel? How much her life had changed in so little time?

She smiled putting her arms around her girlfriend before speaking again. “Congratulations!” Ella said to the boys, “You already make a very cute couple!”

Lance then seemed to get an idea. “Hey, you know what?” He said grinning, “You should come and meet my family!”

“Wait, what?” said Chase

“Yeah! They’ll love you, Chase!” Lance giggled at his boyfriend's expression, before turning to Ella and Jana. “Do you two wanna come too? They’ll wanna meet you, and I think Chase would appreciate the company?”

Before answering, Ella looked over at Box and Grey. The jellyfish-girl was still sitting with the old shark, as he devoured an entire plate of shrimp. “Go ahead, you two!” said Box, smiling. “I’ll keep an eye on this one.”

Ella turned back to Lance, and nodded, before grinning at Jana. “Well! Off to meet the merman’s family!” She said, giddy with excitement. She could hardly believe how exciting her life had become.


	12. The Family We Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella, Jana and Chase get to meet Lance’s family.

Lance led Chase, Ella and Jana down to a quieter part of the city where several structures were dotted around the seabed. As they got closer, Ella could start to make out the various houses in what could only be described as an underwater suburb. Some of the houses were made from hollowed out rock, others were built from scrap, or the remains of small sunken vessels.

Merfolk of all different types were swimming around the area, some were accompanied by sea creature pets. Ella spotted a couple moving along the outskirts next to a cute looking dolphin. Over in one of the backyards, an older looking mermaid lounged next to her pet turtle.

Suddenly, Lance held up a hand, signaling for the others to stop, as a small merboy swam up towards them. The boy looked to be around 10, and looked like a younger version of Lance, with a tanned complexion, bright blonde hair and a spiky red-and-white lionfish tail. He wore a cropped orange tank top, which gave him the appearance of a young California surfer dude. 

“Hey Lance!” said the boy as he reached the group. “Are these your friends?”

Lance smiled, and turned to the others. “Everyone, this is my little brother; Finn.”

Finn playfully shoved his brother. “I’m the second oldest! I hatched before any of the others!” He then looked up at Chase. “Whoa! You’re big! I haven’t seen you before.”

Lance over to his boyfriend and held his hand. “Finn, I’d like you to meet Chase. We’re dating!”

The merboy suddenly perked up with excitement. “What?! That’s awesome!” He started swimming around the couple, trying to take in the fact that his brother was dating the crocodile. He then popped up in front of Chase and started to shake his hand. “Hi! It’s great to meet you! Oh man, I have so many embarrassing stories to tell you about Lance!”

“Finn.” said Lance, sternly.

The merboy grinned innocently, and tried to change the subject. “And who are the two girls?” He asked, gesturing to Ella and Jana.

“Uh, hi.” said Ella, “We’re just visiting the city.”

“Huh...” said Finn, perplexed. “You don’t look like travellers.”

“Oh, we’re from the surface.” explained Jana. “I’m a genie, and Ella’s a shapeshifter.”

“WHAAAT!??” yelled Finn, startling everyone. “You’re from the surface?! That’s so cool!” He grabbed Lance by the shoulders. “She’s a freakin’ genie! She can do all sorts of magic, and stuff!!”

As the young boy spoke, Ella noticed something strange happening; The scales on Finn’s tail seemed to be changing colour, with the white scales becoming pinker.

Lance seemed to notice too. “Calm down, Finn!” he said, nervously pointing at his brother’s tail. “Your tail! You’re going to…!”

Finn barely had time to react, before some invisible force seemed to knock him back, and his body was engulfed in bubbles.

Ella and Chase were shocked, but Lance simply gave an exasperated sigh, and Jana smirked.

The bubbles dissipated, revealing a young mermaid of around 10 years old. She had a light-pink and red lionfish tail, with several small fins around her waist that almost resembled a skirt. She had a tanned complexion, shoulder length white-blonde curly hair, and was wearing the same top that Finn had been wearing...

As the mermaid noticed the adults staring at her, she giggled and blushed, “Whoops!” she said, her voice an octave higher than before. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Finn..?” said Ella slowly. She remembered what Box had said about merfolk shifting genders, but she hadn’t thought it could be quite so sporadic.

“Oh, I go by ‘Finley’ when I’m like this.” she replied casually. “I think it suits me better. Oh, and it’s she/her now.”

“Finley.” said Lance, giving his now little sister a stern look. “You know it’s not polite to shift in front of other people, especially newcomers.”

“It’s okay.” laughed Jana. “You’ve just provided quite the spectacle for Ella and Chase.” She gestured to the two dumbfounded friends either side of her.

Ella was still trying to process all of this. This kid had just shifted from boy to girl, right in front of her like it was completely normal, and everyone had just accepted it. Finley couldn’t have been any older than 10, and she was apparently completely comfortable and open with her identity. When Ella was her age, she wasn’t even aware of the concept of being trans!

“Is she okay?” said Finley, who was looking at Ella with concern. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“It’s okay, dear.” Jana smiled. “She’s just a little new to this whole thing. How about we try and explain it to her?”

The little fish girl nodded and swam about with all the excitement and enthusiasm of a child, “Well down here, there’s tons more people that are fluid instead of binary. Especially kids! We shift genders all the time! Mom says I shift whenever I get too excited.”

“Huh… I guess you shift a lot then.” Ella said with a smile. This acceptance of changeable gender made this undersea world sound like a fantastic place to grow up! “But… What about someone who likes the gender they are and doesn’t want to change?”

“Oh nobody has to shift if they don’t want to. Just the more fluid you are, the more often it happens. Look at Lance, he only has girl days every so often…” Finley looked about for her brother to confirm her point only to notice that Lance and Chase were gone. “Bro?” She asked the surrounding water.

Jana motioned the little girl and Ella towards a large rock a little ways along the path. They quietly swam over and peaked around the side only to see the fish boy comforting Chase, who was literally crying crocodile tears.

“Chase!” said Lance, with his arm around the croc’s shoulders. “I promise, you’ll never have to worry about that! You have my word!”

“Oh no...” said Finley, as she realised what her brother meant. “I messed up! I really messed up!”

“Chase! What’s wrong?” said Ella, hastily swimming over to her friend.

The reptile sniffed, looking up from his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry… I’m making a fool of myself.” He took a deep breath. “I… I just panicked. I couldn’t help it… thinking that I might wake up one day as a girl again or turn back at any moment… I was terrified…”

Ella couldn’t stop her body from shuddering at the thought herself and was happy to have Jana there to hold and comfort her too. “Hey listen.” Lance said softly but firmly. “No one shifts if they don’t want to. My parents have always been male and female. The magic won’t force it on anyone ok?”

Chase took a few deep breaths, nodding and smiling at Lance. “Thank you, Lance. I’m feeling better now.”

After a sigh of relief, Ella suddenly remembered something Finley had said. “Hey, Lance? Have you ever shifted?”

Lance stammered as he answered. “Well... I don’t shift very often, but it does happen, sometimes.” He turned to face Chase. “Would you be comfortable having a girlfriend some days sweetie?”

He smiled and wiped his eyes, more from habit than anything as the tears just went right into the salt water as they came out, “Of course I don’t mind having a fluid partner. Male days, female days, they/them days, you are still the fish that saved my life. That gave me purpose again… I’d love you in any shape or form as long as you’re still you.”

Lance blushed bright pink. He had been used to being the sweet talker, but this declaration had left him rather flustered. “Well I… Oh my… Oh, Chase, I love you too! I…” He covered his face from embarrassment. Then Lance, like his little sibling, noticed that his tail seemed to be changing colour...

“What?!” he gasped, “Oh no! Not now!” 

But it was too late. The merman was suddenly engulfed in bubbles. When they cleared, a pretty mermaid had taken his place. Her light blonde hair was significantly longer, and draped down over her shoulders, in such a way that it now neatly covered her… bosom. Ella felt herself blush a little, and shifted her gaze upwards, though her face wasn’t nearly as red as the mermaid’s.

“Shoot!” She pouted, looking down at her feminine figure and noticeably pinker tail. That had been an inopportune time to change.

Chase blinked in surprise, as he took in the beautiful girl before him. “Uhh… Hey… You ok, sweetie?”

The mermaid gave her boyfriend an awkward smile. “Well Chase… Do you think you can love Lacey as much as Lance?”

In answer, Chase reached out and pulled his girlfriend towards him, and held her tight as their lips met. After a moment, the young lovers broke apart. “Does that answer your question, Lacey?”

Jana and Ella watched and smiled. “Well what do you know… For a guy with scales, Chase can be pretty smooth, when he wants to be.” Jana said with a chuckle.

Ella laughed at her girlfriend’s pun, before giving a small cheer for the happy couple. “Way to go Chase! And Lacey, you look amazing!”

“Thanks!” said the mermaid, blushing a little. “This is the first time I’ve been a girl in a while, but…” She gazed into her boyfriend’s eyes. “I’m loving it, now more than ever!” 

Chase smiled back at her. “Ah, see? You’re just as cute as always. How could I ever not love you like this?” They kissed again.

Ella and Jana turned to give the two lovers some privacy, when Ella realised something. “Hey, where did Finley go? Wasn’t she just here?”

“Wait, what?” said Lacey, breaking away from the kiss. “That’s not like her! She’s normally so inquisitive, especially when she’s a girl.” 

The elder lionfish swam up to get a view of the surrounding area from above. “She’s nowhere close by… I hope she just went home. Nowhere else she’s likely to go right now.” She swam down to the sea floor again, “Can we go and check on her please?”

“Of course, Lacey.” Chase spoke for the group, but Jana and Ella nodded their agreement.

“Follow me then!” Lacey said, swimming off at top speed towards one of the nearby houses.

Unable to keep pace with their guide, but able to follow her easily, the other three followed at a distance. Even knowing this was a serious situation, Chase couldn’t help but smile as he swam. Ella even heard him humming a faint song. “Is that… ‘I Kissed a Girl’ you’re humming?” Ella asked her friend with a smile

“Maybe…” Chase grinned, sheepishly.

Ella’s smile grew a little wider. “You’ve only dated men before this haven’t you?”

Chase blushed and nodded. “Maybe it’s something in the water… Just something about Lacey almost… like flipped a switch. My brain was like “Boys, boys, boys, HOLY CRAP GIRLS! GIRLS! THIS PARTICULAR GIRL!” in a matter of seconds.”

Jana put a hand on the lizard’s shoulder. “Welcome to the wonderful world of queer awakenings, my friend.”

“Yeah…” said Chase, dreamily. “I think you might be right.” 

They stopped outside the house that Lacey had led them to. By standards of homes on land, it would have been a mansion, but looking at the other houses nearby, this was probably more middle-class. “Wow… families live well down here.”

Jana, having the most confidence in the group knocked on the door. It was answered by an old woman with glasses and the lower body of a dolphin.

“Hello,” Jana said warmly “I am a genie visiting with my shapeshifting girlfriend and a mer-croc. We’re friends of Lacey. Did she come through here?”

The woman smiled and stood aside from the door. “Oh yes, she just came in.” The woman gave a small chuckle. “I think she was heading upstairs.”

“Thank you!” They all said together and swam their way up a staircase. “Wait, why do people without feet have stairs?” Ella asked before she could help herself. 

She wasn’t going to get an answer to this question though, for as Jana was about to open her mouth to speak, they found Lacey banging on a locked door.

“Finley? Are you in there? Come out! You didn’t do anything wrong.” She called through the door, receiving no answer. 

Chase put a hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder before speaking. “Finley, this is Chase. Please some out so we can talk? I’m not upset anymore.”

There was quiet for a moment, then they heard a click as the door unlocked. It opened just a little, and Finley’s face appeared in the gap, her lower lip quivering. “You… you’re not mad?”

“I promise.” Chase even crossed his heart with a solemnity that he was sure a child would understand. “I was never mad at you in the first place… I just… Reacted badly to a misunderstanding. I’m sorry if you ever thought I was angry or upset with you.” 

Finley then noticed her big sister, and she opened the door fully. “Lacey?! You shifted too?!”

The older mermaid smiled . “Yep, it’s me.”

Without warning, Finley shot out through the doorway, and tackled her sister with a big hug.

“Whoa there, missy!” Lacey giggled, returning the hug. “What’s all this about?”

“You hardly ever shift!” Finley squealed. “Most of the time, you’re only a girl when I’m a boy. We never get to hang out as sisters!”

“This girl doesn’t stay sad for very long does she?” Ella asked Jana, the couple off to one side as the sisters hugged and Chase awaited his chance to talk.

“Benefits of childhood.” The genie answered with a soft smile. 

“We have to do something together! Sister time!” Finley cried out, hugging herself tight to Lacey.

The older fish chuckled and hugged back “Alright Finley. What do you want to do?”

Chase cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind my help, I think we could have a little spa day for you lovely ladies.”

“Spa day?” Finley repeated.

“Sure! I used to work in a beauty parlor on land. So hair, nails, facials…” the lizard paused, having just thought of something, “...all of which probably work differently underwater, but I’m a fast learner and know all the basics.”

The sisters smiled wide looking at each other. “Sounds like a great idea sweetie!” Lacey said, pulling both her sister and boyfriend down the hall. “I have all the stuff we’d need in my room! Come on! You girls too!” She called back to Jana and Ella.

“Oh my gods…!” Ella gasped with joyous realisation. I’m going to get a makeover with a bunch of girlfriends! This is everything I wanted in college!” She took Jana by the hand and swam after them as fast as her fin would move her. 

__________________________________________________________________

For someone who spent most of their time as male, Lacey’s room had everything they needed for makeovers. Waterproof nail polish, make up, hair products and even temporary dyes. Be they Lacey or Lance, this fish liked to update their look regularly.

Soon enough, the mermaids and mer-croc were chatting away, while Chase worked on Lacey’s hair, and Finley floated round asking her sister’s boyfriend all sorts of questions. The younger mermaid had changed into a more frilly, pink top, which made her look and feel more girly, as well as stolen one of Lacey’s glittery hair clips.

Over on the bed, Ella lay on her back while Jana applied makeup to her girlfriend’s face, both of them giggling as they listened to the conversation.

“So, you left the surface because everyone thought you were a girl, but you’re actually a boy?” Finley said, sounding somewhat bemused. “That must’ve been hard, especially when humans can’t shift like we can.”

“Yeah, it was pretty rough.” said Chase. “But don’t go thinking that the surface world is all terrible, just because I had a bad experience.”

“Oh, trust me! She knows.” giggled Lacey. “The thing she does most, as both Finley and Finn, is watching YouTube videos from the surface. My sister knows more than you might think about the surface world.”

Finley playfully threw a pillow Lacey, but Chase quickly deflected it with his tail. He was becoming pretty adept at controlling his new appendage with remarkable speed.

“Wait, YouTube?” repeated Ella. “You get the internet down here?”

“Sure we do! This place is magic, after all!” said Finley, smiling. “I love learning all about your world, especially all the different animals.”

Lacey smiled. “Yeah, those wildlife videos are pretty cute. Like that wolf puppy who got the boot stuck on his head.”

Ella stifled a laugh and shared a look with Jana. What were the odds they were hanging out with a few of Logan’s subscribers? “I’ve heard of that little wolf puppy. Never got around to seeing his videos.”

“Oh you’ve gotta see it!” The excited little girl swam over to one of the cabinets, and pulled out a giant clam shell, which was then revealed to be a laptop. In moments, YouTube was up and they were on the page for “The Groves of Rhea Wildlife Preserve.”

“Oh! Look!” Finley cried out, seeing a new video uploaded just hours ago showing a very familiar puppy in the thumbnail. The video titled “wolf pup finds a GoPro.” Unable to wait, Finley hit play and settled down close to Ella and Jana to watch it.

The video started on an empty forest, footage from a camera seemingly dropped on the ground. A few wolves made their way past the spot, Ella actually recognizing Farkas and Vilkas in the lead, but Logan the smallest wolf in the back paused to stare right at the camera. The pup tilted his head and trotted over real close to the camera. He sniffed it, pressing his nose right to the lense, then he shook his head and sneezed. He pawed at it, jumping around and barking squeakily at the odd little box. He again leaned in close and licked the camera, before picking it up in his teeth and running off holding it in his mouth before the video stopped.

Over the squeals and “Aaawwws!” from Finley, and the laughter from Lacey, Ella felt oddly proud that Logan had used her suggestion for a video. In fact, not just used it, but owned it! She briefly wondered if it was worth telling Finley that she had met the pup in the video, but decided against it. The little wolf’s true nature was best kept a secret to outsiders, even if those outsiders were also magical creatures.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, which then swung open to reveal two figures. Ella recognized one of them as the old mermaid who had let them in when they first arrived at the house. The other was a middle-aged woman, also with a dolphin’s tail, who smiled as she entered the room.

“Hi mom!” said Finley, cheerily. “Look! Me and Lacey are both girls! How cool is that?!”

“Lacey?” said the woman, turning to her eldest daughter, and chuckling. “Well, it’s not often we see you like this.” She smiled, then noticed Chase, Ella and Jana. “Who are your friends?” 

The older woman chuckled to herself “Well the blue one introduced herself as a genie, visiting with her shapeshifting girlfriend.” she gave a little nod towards Ella, “But they were in too much of a rush to use first names at the door.”

“Sorry about that.” The genie said with a smile. “I’m Jana, this lovely creature is Ella.” She paused and snuck a kiss from her blushing girlfriend.

“And this is Chase!” Lacey added. “Sorry mom, I meant to tell you earlier, but… Well...” She gestured at her female form. “Stuff happened, and I got distracted.”

Finley cut in, “He’s that boy Lance rescued a few weeks ago and wouldn’t stop talking about how cute he was! They’re dating now!”

“Finley!” Lacey’s entire body blushed a shade of pink down to the tips of her fins. 

“Oh how wonderful!” The momma dolphin cried out, swimming forward to meet the embarrassed reptile officially.

The older woman smiled at the antics, but then swam over to Ella and Jana. “I thought you looked familiar, Jana. It has been a long time. I don’t think I caught your name back then, but I’m sure it’s you.”

She stared at the older dolphin woman in disbelief “Echo? But how?”

“The mermaid who married the pirate?” Ella asked in equal disbelief. Sure she looked older than the mother, but not over a century old… Merfolk really did age much more gracefully than Grey had implied!

“The very same!” The older woman chittered in a laugh very fitting from a dolphin. “Do I really look that good for my age?” She fluffed her hair and posed, making her daughter and granddaughters all roll their eyes together. “This is nothing compared to you though! You haven’t aged a day!” She leaned in conspiratorially “I don’t suppose you can teach me your secret so I can keep hanging around bugging my family forever?”

Jana smiled a little sadly. “I’m afraid not Echo. Long life my way doesn’t tend to do very well. Ask your neighbor Grey about the hazards of true immortality. Not fun.”

“Oh that old coot. Yeah I know him. When I heard a genie was moving in me and Bill had hoped it was you. That old shark was a real let down.”

Jana chuckled, “Don’t worry. We had a talk with him. He should be more sociable by now… Billy wouldn’t happen to be home right now would he? I wasn’t sure if he’d still be here and it’d be nice to see him before we head home for the day.”

Echo nodded and smiled, “oh yeah he’s around. Probably being swarmed by the little ones right now. But don’t worry. I know how to disperse the kids,” She grinned wickedly, and took a deep breath before calling out into the hall. “Kids! Come and meet Lacey’s new boyfriend!”The house was dead silent for a moment before they heard distant cheering growing in a rumble as it got closer. 

“Nanna what have you done! You’ll scare him away!” Lacey clung tightly to a confused Chase. Moments later, five other merkids came zooming up the stairs like a giggling cheering stampede and jumped their older sister and ‘new uncle’, hugging them and assaulting them both with questions.

“Perfect!” Echo said, her work done, “Come on! Let’s go talk to Bill before the minnows regroup!” She swam off, laughing to herself and Jana and Ella followed, trying their best to not laugh at their friend’s misfortune. 

They were led down to a cozy little sitting room that was empty, except for a middle aged looking man asleep in an old armchair. He was an oddly intimidating figure, with deeply tanned skin from his life on the sea, scars on his face and hands, and many sharp teeth in his open snoring mouth. Between the teeth and the long thin fish tail, the girls guessed he was probably a barracuda. 

“How did he fall asleep that fast?” Jana asked quietly, “The kids just left him.”

“I’m guessing with that brood in the house, he rests when he can.” Ella said equally as quiet. 

Echo swam up and kissed her husband on the cheek. “Billy, wake up. There are guests here to see you.” She stared at him, surprised that he was still asleep. “Bill, dinner is ready… Strange that normally wakes him up right away.”

“Might I try something a bit extreme Echo?” Jana asked, having gotten an idea.

“Is it going to be funny?”

“Oh absolutely.”

“Go for it!”

Jana smiled, conjuring a ship bosun's whistle. She blew it in an odd pattern before calling in a deep voice, “Aharr! Galleon of the starboard bow, cap’n!” 

The merman sat up immediately, “ALL HANDS ON DECK! What colors is she flying?! Load the cannons! I…” The old fish frose in the act of running to grab a cutlass off the mantle to look around and realize where he was. “Wait… This isn’t my captain’s cabin…” 

He turned to the girls, all three of them trying their best not to laugh. “Oh very funny, Echo. Taking advantage of a confused old sailor when it isn’t even his watch.”

“Hey don’t look at me, captain.” She nodded at Jana who transformed into the pirate outfit that had delighted Ella earlier.

“Remember me captain?” She saluted and winked at the older man.

“Well now, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes missy! I wondered if you’d ever come back to these waters.” He laughed heartily and pulled Jana into a tight hug. He looked over Jana’s shoulder and smiled at Ella who waved back a little awkwardly. “And I see you’ve made new friends since we last met.” 

“This is Ella, my girlfriend and current mistress. Let me tell you, she is much better company than you or your crew used to be Bill.” Jana resummed her eel form and squirmed her way out of the pirate’s grip. 

“Oh come now, we had our fun!” He snapped his fingers and swam over to a locked cabinet and pulled out a very old looking glass bottle of rum. “Here, I save this particular vintage for special guests. It’s older than I am! Care for a pull from it for old time sake?”

Jana smirked a bit and took the offered bottle. “Oh sure it was fun, running with pirates and all. But you boys only ever called me Genie, Missy, or Lass. You never even tried to know me outside of my powers and my pretty face.” She popped out the cork. Ella was surprised that the liquid inside didn’t come leaking into the sea water all at once. Instead, large red bubbles came out of the neck, one for each of them. Jana stopped the bottle before more could get out. 

“All the same I’ll still drink a toast to you, old man.” Jana held up the bubble of liquor in the palm of her hand like it was a wine glass. “To Blood ‘n’ Guts Billy, the best pirate you’ve never heard of!” She smiled mischievously, and swallowed the ball of rum in one gulp. 

Ella looked about the room to see how the others would react to this, but was relieved to see both Bill and Echo smiling and joining the toast. Bill and Jana seemed to be the old friends who had fun ragging on each other. Relieved that this wasn’t going to turn into an ugly fight, Ella popped the ball of rum into her own mouth. It was indeed very strong stuff that burnt her throat and nose on the way down. She tried her best not to cough or let her eyes water as she took a few deep gulps of sea water to balance the feeling out. 

“Hard to believe these two used to drink this stuff more than water, isn’t it?” Echo had swum over to pat the young girl on the back till the burning had worked its way out of her lungs. 

“Did it get stronger with age?” Ella said, wheezing a little.

“Nope. Potent as the day it was distilled.” Billy sighed with satisfaction, putting the bottle away. “Put’s real hair on your chest.”

Ella couldn’t help but look down at her chest to make sure she wasn’t sprouting hair. She cleared her throat in embarrassment and swam over to Jana, holding her hand. “I’m glad we were able to find you captain. It’s surprising to me how many people from Jana’s past I’ve been able to meet, but I’m always happy to know someone who knew her.”

Bill sat back down in his armchair, Echo perched rather impishly on one of the arms. “The pleasure is mine Miss Ella. And Jana is your name? I’m glad to finally know it. I wish I had known it sooner.”

Jana shook her head. “Well, Jana is my name now, but it’s a name I only came by after leaving you… It’s a long story.”

Echo nodded. “Yes, I’m sure that both of you have a fair number of tall tails to swap. Would you girls like to stay for dinner? Have more time to talk it over?”

Ella checked her watch quickly. It couldn’t be dinner time already. They just had lunch with Grey moments ago… But it was much later than she had thought. The makeup must have taken longer than expected. She looked upstairs, clearly indicating the chaos that they had left in Lacey’s room. “We would love to, but would we be able to talk over dinner with the minnows, as you called them, running amok?” 

The grandmother waved off the concern. “Oh don’t worry about them. When we have company over, the kids sit at a separate table. They’ll be completely out of our hair… Except if they start another food fight. Then there is a fair chance of things getting in our hair.”

They all laughed at this and the girls followed the old pirate and his wife into the kitchen to help them set the tables and get ready.


	13. The Magic of the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories shared, gifts given, and a journey back to dry land.

Eight seats had been set in the dining room, with what looked like quite fancy dinner plates. Another six places were set around a smaller table in the living room on cute plastic plates with cartoon animals. Ella smiled to herself as she watched Finley and her loud energetic siblings, who seemed to move as a group, sitting down and watching Spngebob on a TV made from a huge scallop shell as they waited for their food. Compared to the last time Jana and her had sat around a table for a family dinner, this was wonderful! 

Over in the dining room, couples sat side by side around the table, with Echo and Bill at the head. Across from them sat Lacey and Finley’s mother; the dolphin woman they had met earlier, who was named Marie. She mentioned that her husband, whose name was Jacque, was working late and would probably be home later. Ella spotted Jaque in a picture on the wall. He was a middle-aged merman with a lionfish tail, similar to his kids. 

Chase and Lacey had been the last adults to arrive. The minnows had taken an immediate liking to Chase, and had all asked the strong reptile to carry them down to dinner. It had been hard work, even with the enhanced strength of his new body, but he enjoyed the attention and enthusiasm too much to care. “They’re a real sweet bunch of kids, Marie.” He smiled and stretched some sore muscles in his seat.

“Oh, I know.” Marie nodded in agreement, “Unless they want literally anything from you. They can be pretty evil then.” She stage whispered the second part, making everyone chuckle.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with all of that at once sweetie.” Lacey hugged her boyfriend and kissed his cheek, still proud he had handled them so well. “But it’s sweet that they all liked you that much!”

Ella looked between the young couple and the elders. No scolding from the parents for the public affection at the table? Was this a merfolk thing, or were all families actually this mellow when they liked each other?

There was a ding from the kitchen and Echo excused herself to get the food. “Hope you kids don’t mind that we kept dinner simple tonight!” She called from the kitchen, “We weren’t expecting guests. We have either salmon burgers or spicy tuna nuggets with sea cucumber fries! Who wants what?”

Most of the kids took nuggets and most of the adults took burgers and soon they were all set. Ella was more than a little curious about how they were able to cook meat or keep bread from getting soggy at the bottom of the ocean, but after one bite, she didn’t care. “This is all so good!” She said before she could help herself.

Echo smiled, “Oh this is nothing. You should come over for dinner when I have time to plan. Or better yet, when Marie is cooking!”

The younger dolphin laughed, “Nonsense mom, I learned everything from you!” She smiled at the guests, “We’ll have to invite you back for dinner again a few more times so you can help us settle who is the better cook.”

Jana nodded her approval, “We’d be happy to help with that,” she turned to Bill and commented , “But I thought Lacey said you and Echo weren’t home very much.”

The old pirate shrugged, “We’ve already seen so much of the world. Now the kids are growing up, we don’t need to travel as far for a little excitement and adventure.” He looked into the living room and smiled, “Here’s some fun already. Marie, the minnows are gambling with their dinner again.”

“They’re what!” Marie swam into the next room. “Finley! I told you not to play with your food. Everyone eat, and then you can play poker for your desserts once your plates are clean, ok?” 

“The kids know how to play poker?” Ella asked, watching her diffuse the situation quickly and restore order without even raising her voice.

“And blackjack, rummy, pinochle, a few things with dice,” Bill nodded his approval, tapping a fry on the plate as he counted off games. “Taught them everything I know.”

“Like how to cheat and blame it on the guy next to you?” Jana asked.

“No, Echo taught them that before I got the chance.” They all laughed at that before he continued. “But enough about that Jana, what can you tell me about our old ship mates? I never saw nor heard from them again once I came down here.”

Jana gave a little shrug, “Are you really that surprised that they didn’t wait around to see if you came back? All they saw was you and me dive into the water after a mermaid came up and talked to you. None of them knew what you were doing down here. They mostly thought you were dead.”

“Mostly?”

“Well, Lucky Jack, the bosun, wanted to wait for you. You won’t believe this, but he was sweet on you, Bill. He was heartbroken when you left. Would stare out at the sea wondering if you would come back for hours, poor lamb.”

Bill sighed and leaned back to look at the ceiling. “I remember Jack… He always got so flustered when I complimented his work. And here I was too thick to notice what it meant… I hope he found a safe harbor to be happy in.”

“Oh yeah. He did great. You see, Jack was so sad when you left that Stefen the Cook took to comforting him! They got married after a few years and started a cute little inn in Kingston Town.”

Bill laughed and pounded the table. “Good for them! Glad Jack was able to move on. I know I must have been hard to get over.”

Echo rolled her eyes, kissing his cheek as she fixed a few things his enthusiasm had knocked over. “Yes poor Jack, all of this could have been his.” 

“Oh you know you love me!... but wait, where did they get the money for that? There wasn’t that much treasure in the ship when I left.”

Jana laughed before swallowing a mouthful of her burger. “Did you think leaving a genie on a pirate ship that no one else would use my magic? Your old first mate got me first but used all his wishes in one night while drunk out of his mind! I actually feel sorry for him. He wished for a sack of gold, a bottle of rum and a hot meal! Easiest day of work for me for years!”

“Ha! Knowing Sven, that still would have probably satisfied him, even when sober!” laughed Bill, before adding, “Ah, who am I kidding? He was never sober.”

Jana continued. “After that, Jack and Stefen got my lamp and snuck me ashore so I wouldn’t keep getting passed around the crew. They were pretty good masters. Sure, their last wish was for me to work at the Inn till they could afford to hire staff, but it was a kinder wish than others I’ve dealt with over the years, let me tell you.”

“How long did you work for them?” Ella asked, playfully stealing fries from Jana’s plate.

“A couple years. Once they were done with me I asked if they would watch my lamp so I could rest from the job for a little while. So there I sat on their mantle for a long time, watching the boys adopt and raise kids, it was so cute!” She smiled before trailing off.

She continued, “Theeen I had to leave after a drunk broke in and stole my lamp, a couple valuables, and a few bottles from behind the bar. The thief never realized what my lamp was and was happy to just pawn everything for food and more wine. Eventually that thief crossed to Europe and sold my lamp to an… interesting family called the Olsens…” she then started into a simplified version of the story Ella had heard among the wolves.

Ella loved hearing her girlfriend talk, but felt like she was being a bad guest not participating in the conversation. As such she turned her attention to Echo. Trying not to sound as awkward as she felt, she asked “So… what does your family do for a living?” Nope, she was still hopelessly awkward!

The old dolphin laughed and waved the comment off, “Oh, nobody down here really needs to work for a living if they don’t want to. People open restaurants because they like to cook, musicians perform just because they like to play. Doing anything “for a living” is a landlocked way of thinking.”

“... Ok, speaking as a struggling artist, can I say how amazing that is?” Ella would have loved to live in a world where she could just create all day. 

Echo smiled warmly. “You aren’t the first artist to think that either, dear. But to answer your question from earlier, ours is one of the families tasked with maintaining the magical protection of the city. Not as fun as some other jobs, but it’s very rewarding.”

“Magical protection? Your family are wizards!?” Ella was too big of a dork to ever not get excited to meet someone magical.

“Our style of magic is more… enchanting than wizardry, but yes. All merfolk are a little magical, but our family is one especially good at making the power of the sea work for us.” She held up her hand and water swirled around it until the limb became invisible. “It takes a lot of us and a lot of work to keep entire cities off of sonar and radar. You humans get nosier every year!”

Ella couldn’t help but look around the room for more signs of magic. The meal they were eating, along with the TV and laptop were starting to make a lot more sense. “So… what, this entire city is kept invisible to humans? Do they see ruins if they get too close? Does that mean that divers or submarines would sometimes bump into an invisible Merperson?”

Marie joined in the conversation, “Oh no. The invisibility trick works great for Merfolk traveling in the open ocean, where very few humans would ever be likely to look for us. But it wouldn’t be enough for all this. No, we hide our cities in a much safer place.”

Ella was a bit surprised by the choice of words. “Place? What do you mean?”

“Hmmm...” Echo said, pouring herself a small ball of what seemed to be white wine and sipping it. “How best to explain this… Do you know what I’m talking about if I say this is a pocket dimension?”

“.... A pocket… you mean… this entire city isn’t technically on the same world as the rest of the earth?”

She nodded and shrugged “Yeah that’s about the size of it. Why else do you think you needed to enter the city through the tunnel at the Shoal House? If you tried to dive down here from the beach, you’d have only found a lot of sand down here. ”

“The tunnel was a magic portal?” Ella’s eyes went wide with realisation. “Well that explains a lot. For one thing, how multiple cities of magical creatures stayed secret for so long.”

“Oh yeah. There’s more magic in the world than people expect. I have an old witch pen pal up in Canada.” Echo said, pausing to think, “You knew it’s been a while since I heard from her. Hope she’s ok.”

Ella couldn’t help but smile, “This witch friend wouldn’t happen to be named Rhea would she? A real dog person?” She felt it was better to not mention werewolves directly just in case it was someone else.

“That’s her!” The old dolphin said excitedly. “Do you know her?”

“Sort of… I haven’t met her, but we went to visit her village a few days ago. The Olsen family Jana mentioned lives with her!”

“Hold on…” She paused, mentally putting the pieces together, “the Groves of Rhea… those videos you and the kids were watching.” 

Ella put a finger to her lips, “Yeah I think you got it. But don’t let the secret out to Finley ok? I feel like she would be sad to find out the videos are scripted.”

The grandmother smiled and nodded, “Right. Our secret, at least for now. She’ll probably work it out herself before too long.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, she’s about to start her magical training. She’ll learn how to identify other magical creatures and before long Finley will spot the distinct features… or maybe they won’t since Lacey didn’t see it.”

“What was that, grandma?” Lacey asked from down the table. She hadn’t been paying very close attention to any conversations, preferring to spend her time sitting in Chase’s lap to be cuddled as the little spoon.

“Never mind.” Echo chuckled, sipping her wine, Marie laughing with her mother.

Ella smiled and gave Chase a covert thumbs up of approval before talking to the dolphins again, “Well, when and if Finley finds out, since you know Rhea, maybe she could become friends with the puppy in the videos. He’s a nice kid.” She smiled, looking into the living room again at Finley who seemed to be playing Three-Card Monte with her siblings, “I wish I could have learned magic at Finley’s age… Heck, I’d love to learn it now.” Ella saw that this statement had caught Jana’s attention, stopping her in the middle of a story about a wild weekend she and the crew had had in Tortuga. 

“Did you mean that as a real wish, bunny?” Jana asked in the pause of the conversation.

“Sorry love. Figure of speech.” Ella smiled and gave her girlfriend’s hand a squeeze before they both returned to their talks.

“Well, with Jana you could learn all kinds of magic easily.” said Echo. “But you’d need to find a real teacher to learn it the long official way.”

Ella nodded, “I’d want the full experience! My shape shifting powers are one thing, but I’d want to learn and grow as a magic user! It’s not as much fun to just ask Jana and poof! I know everything!”

Echo was in full agreement. “Oh yes I understand that. Well, if you already know Rhea, then she would probably be your best bet to learn from.” 

“Couldn’t you teach me a little? You said your whole family was full of magic!” Ella was so excited to learn, that she was reluctant to wait.

The old sea mammal laughed at the girl’s eagerness. “Patience dear. Magic takes a long time to get right. And you’d have an easier time learning from someone on land. I’m sure that you have a home you’d like to go back to at the end of the day too.”

Ella sighed. It was true, as much fun as this underwater world was, she didn’t want to give up on her new home, or on building a life with her wonderful girlfriend in their own world. “Oh… Ok, fair point. I’ll just have to come back once I’ve learned a few spells and show you what I know!”

“We’d all be very happy to see you then. Consider yourself and Jana welcome here anytime you’re under the sea!” Echo got up from the table and started collecting the finished plates. “Would anyone like dessert? We have some homemade sea salt ice cream!”  
__________________________________________________________________

They stayed and talked for hours longer over big bowls of ice cream enchanted to not start melting until it was in someone’s mouth. Ella and Jana had been having so much fun that they hadn’t even noticed the sea getting dark outside the home. 

There was another chime from outside the dining room, the toll of an old ship's clock. “Time to change the watch.” Bill said, excusing himself from the table and floating over to the kids in the living room. “Come on, little sailors. Time for you to swim off to bed!”

Ella was fighting not to laugh as all six of the kids started complaining about how unfair it was. Finley was the loudest and most outspoken, probably because she had won three helpings of ice cream for herself. “Insubordination!” The old sailor called in mock seriousness, “50 lashes and a keelhaulin’ for the lot of ya!” the good-natured former pirate began chasing his giggling grandkids around the room, but still managed to herd them upstairs to bed. 

“This happens every night.” Marie said with a sigh. 

“I wonder who has more fun, Bill or the kids.” Echo shook her head, looking fondly up at the floor above her.

“Bill, definitely.” Jana said without hesitation. She, Chase and Ella had insisted on helping clear the table and wash the dishes. “He never had that much fun as a pirate captain.” 

Ella took another look outside. The city of Tellonna shone in the distance, through the dimness of the evening sea. She sighed as she realised that it was probably time for her and Jana to start heading home.

Marie had agreed to let Chase stay with the family, while he got used to his new life under the sea. Lacey was delighted that her boyfriend would be staying, and had offered Ella and Jana a bed in the guest room, but the girls politely declined. Instead, Lacey offered to escort the girls back to the portal to the surface.

As the girls were saying their goodbyes to the family, Finley suddenly rushed downstairs from her room, apparently having listened in on the conversation, and wanting to say her own goodbye. “It was fun hanging out with you!” she said, through a yawn. “I don’t always get to be a girl with so many people at once.”

Ella smiled as she gave the young mermaid a hug. She felt so happy for this child for being raised in such a positive environment, with magic and an accepting, supportive family.

After Finely was ushered up to her room by her mother and grandma, Ella turned to Chase, who was feeling rather worn out after such an eventful day. The mer-croc had offered to escort the girls back to the portal with his girlfriend, but Lacey insisted that he rest.

“You’ve been through so much today, sweetie!” said Lacey, kissing Chase on the cheek. “Not to mention, carrying all the kids downstairs probably took a lot out of you.”

“Yes, dear.” said Chase, smiling at Lacey and making her blush. “I guess, I should say my goodbyes now.” He made his way over to Ella, and pulled her into a brotherly hug. “Ella, I can’t thank you and Jana enough for everything! If it weren’t for you, I’d still be stuck up in the Shoal House!”

Ella hugged her friend right back. “You’re welcome, Chase! We’ll be sure to come back and visit at some point soon. We’ll see how things work out for us on the surface.”

They broke apart, and Chase smiled at Ella. “Good luck with everything, Ella. You’re a wonderful woman, and you deserve the very best...” He looked over her shoulder towards Jana, who was saying goodbye to Billy. “...and it looks like you already have it!”

Ella smiled, and gave her scaly friend one last hug, before swimming over to Jana.

“‘You ready to go, honeybun?” said Jana, “We could stay for the night if you want to?”

Ella smiled. “No, I think it’s best we head back. But we’re definitely coming back here soon.” She squeezed Jana’s hand, and gazed lovingly into her eyes.

“Okay, girls!” said Lacey. “We should probably get moving, if you wanna get to the portal before sundown.”  
__________________________________________________________________

Shortly afterwards, the three mermaids were swimming through the aquatic suburbia. Lacey led the way through the water, with Ella and Jana following behind.

“So, Ella…” said Lacey, slowing down so that she could swim alongside the other girls. “What did you think of your first trip to Tellonna?”

“Oh, it was wonderful!” She giggled, swimming in a few loops and spirals to express her joy. “It’s beautiful! With great fun, amazing people, magic everywhere! I love it!” 

A final thought she kept to herself was how, while it was a wonderful place to visit, she didn’t feel ready to live there just yet. Maybe someday she and Jana might decide to come down here for good, but she wanted to experience more of her own world before moving on to others.

Lacey nodded in agreement. “It’s the best place I know… and with Chase here it is only going to get better!”

Jana smirked at the mermaid as they swam along. “I’m a little surprised that your mom was fine with your new boyfriend sleeping over already. Got any fun plans tonight?”

The lionfish blushed bright red and squirmed a little “Oh! Don’t say it like that! Of course we aren’t planning anything!... ‘cept maybe cuddling each other till we fall asleep and…”

Lacey let out a little squeak as she noticed her tail was, once again, starting to change colour. “Oh no! Not again!” She was immediately engulfed in bubbles again, and when they cleared, Lance the merman had returned.

Lance grinned awkwardly. “Oh dear… two shifts in one day? Looks like having a boyfriend is going to make life more interesting, that’s for sure…”

“You think having a boyfriend is making you shift more?” Ella asked, still curious about how the shifting worked as they started making their way back through the heart of the city. 

“Maybe?” Lance shrugged. “I’ve never shifted twice in one day, and before today I’d been male for a couple of weeks...” He paused as he considered this, and seemed to realise something. 

“Oh my…!” Lance blushed. “The last time I shifted was just after I rescued Chase! I’d dropped him off at the Shoal House when I felt a change coming, so I quickly dove down to avoid being seen!”

Jana exchanged a grin with Ella. “Wait! You’re saying that the first time you met Chase, he caused you to turn into Lacey?!” The genie looked like she was trying not to laugh.

“I didn’t think of it at the time, but yeah! I think you’re right!” Lance gave a slow, awkward laugh. “I shifted back to male a few days later, and didn’t think anything of it…”

The girls giggled at the merman’s bewildered expression. “You’re in love, sweetheart!” laughed Jana. “There’s no denying it!”

The trio continued swimming up through the vertical streets of Tellonna. Jana paused for a moment as they swam past the sushi restaurant where they had last seen Grey and Box. “You don’t think…” She swam up to the window and laughed, “Oh gods! He’s still eating!” 

Looking in through the shop window, they saw Grey cleaning up a final plate of sashimi, dozens of empty dirty plates all around him, while Box, still in female form was in the back helping the exhausted looking Kapa owner count the gold from the boot to pay for the meal.

“Two bucks says that poor cook takes tomorrow off.” Ella said softly to herself. Grey spotted them through the window and waved to the three of them to come in. The diminutive chef panicked and ran to the door, quickly switching the sign from open to closed before someone else came in to eat him out of house and home.

The shark laughed and got up slowly from the table. He called back to his new jellyfish friend. “Tip him well, ok Box? I’m going to step out to have a word with the girls and I’ll be right back.” 

As the lethargically moving shark opened the door and swam out into the dusk lit waters, the girls heard Box call, “You better come back old man or I’m keeping the rest of this loot for myself!”

“Been having fun, Grey?” Jana asked, smiling at the shark’s dopey grin and swollen stomach.

“Oh the best time! I’m glad you came by! The young invertebrate is going to find me a better place to stay for the night once my tab was settled!” He let out a belch, “Buuut I am rather thirsty now… maybe I can talk her into showing me where to find a few bottles of wine before I call it a night…” He shook his head to get back on subject, “But I wanted to give you girls something before you went home! A little gift to show my thanks for everything you’ve done for me!”

The odd old bottom feeder presented the girls with a small wooden box. “I asked Box to run back to my ship and get this during my meal… I kept it from all those years ago. Something to remember my freedom. But now… I feel that I must give it back to you.” 

Jana’s hands shook slightly as she accepted the box. “This… is from my home?”

“Not just your home Jana. You dropped it when you were pulled in by the lamp.”

Jana slowly opened the lid of the box. Ella looked over her shoulder and saw a simple bracelet of braided silver with a small detailed cat’s head with eyes of amber on the end of each side. 

“Freya’s bracelet… her… my wedding present…” her voice cracked and she started to cry, but it was hard to tell if they were tears of sorrow or joy. “Grey… I should slap you for keeping this from me… and kiss you for giving it back… thank you…” 

She decided to split the difference and swam forward to hug the ugly old shark. He groaned at how tight she was squeezing but didn’t dare complain. She pulled back and wiped her eyes, even though the tears had been carried away by the water. 

“So Grey… what’s next for you?” She said, trying to get her emotions under control, already having put the bangle on her wrist. Ella tried not to feel jealous or worried, but she couldn’t help but eye the bracelet and wonder about the story behind it.

He smiled, showing a number of missing teeth, “Well in the short term, I want to get very drunk and fall asleep on something more comfortable than an old, rotting wooden floor. In the long term… I want to get to know my fellow men again… well, my fellow fish at any rate. I have lived too long as an island to myself.”

Jana nodded and shook his hand, “I hope you find peace however you decide to use what time is left to you. Until we next meet.” 

He nodded and squeezed her hand, “May your gods and mine smile down on you both. They will offer you protection, peace and guidance in all things. Farewell Jana, and thank you again lady Ella for the kindness of your wish!” He actually bowed to the quiet shapeshifter before returning inside the restaurant to make sure everything had been covered. 

Lance was the first one to speak, not having all the facts for the conversation. “Well now. I’ve never seen that old fossil in such a good mood! Whatever you girls did, I think it was for the good of the entire city!”

“It’s a long story. Maybe we’ll tell you about it the next time we are here.” Ella said, taking Jana by the hand. The genie had been staring at the bracelet for a long moment. “Sweetie? Are you ok?”

Jana took a deep breath and nodded, “I will be. This has just brought up a lot of memories.” She was quiet for a moment, only speaking again when the three of them had started swimming on, “In my people, brides are often given kittens as wedding presents. Cats are a sacred animal to the goddess of love, Freya, that my wife was named for. When we married there were no kittens to be had. So Freya had this made for me instead. A gift with two cats, giving our wedding day a blessing of the goddess and her own love… I prized this above all else during my mortal life.”

“It’s beautiful.” Ella said with a weak smile. “Freya was a very special woman…”

Jana tightened her grip on Ella’s hand and looked her full in the face, “So are you Ella. Never forget that darling. My love for Freya does nothing to change my love for you.”

Ella hugged herself to Jana’s body. “I know angel… it’s just when I hear you talk about her… I can’t help but feel a little unworthy… Freya sounds like such an amazing woman and… I can’t help but compare myself to her and think I come up short…”

Jana pulled Ella into a tight embrace and kissed her with all the love and passion the genie could put into the action, “Bunny please don’t do that. Love isn’t a competition. There’s plenty of room in my heart for both the proud warrior and the compassionate artist. I will treasure you both as long as I live, and I don’t want you to ever forget that!”

Ella blushed right red and buried her face in Jana’s chest, “Oh gods Jana! One of these days you’ll make me blush to death if you keep saying things like that!”

“You’re so cute when you blush. I’m willing to take that risk!” Jana giggled and kissed her girlfriend again and again.

Both girls looked up when they heard someone cough. Lance was still off to one side and waved at them. “Sorry to interrupt you two being gay and adorable, but we really should keep moving. Easy to get lost in the ocean once it’s completely dark.”

“Right…” Ella cleared her throat and kissed Jana one more time, fully planning to continue this later. “Lead on!”

As they continued through the city, Jana again illuminated her tail to better light their path. Looking around the city, Ella saw a surprising number of other residents also glowed in bright shades of blue, red, green and yellow. “With so many people glowing, I bet this place has some amazing raves.”

Lance chuckled, “Actually yeah. We have a very active nightlife here. There’s a great club with an anglerfish MC who goes by DJ D33P. Thought I’d take Chase there tomorrow night.”

“Oh that sounds like a great time!” Ella had always wanted to go dancing, but had never had the confidence for it. 

“There you are!” A voice called to them from the edge of the city. Ella smiled to see Mizu and Cici were waiting for them. “We were starting to think you were going to stay the night. Ready to shove off to dry town again?” Mizu asked.

“Oh my goodness!” Ella cried, apologetically. “Don’t tell me that we held you up all day waiting for us? I’m so sorry!”

Cici waved a flipper at them. “Don’t worry about it girl. Keeping an eye out for visitors and new arrivals is my job after all. I knew when you would be coming back. Chase settling in nicely?”

“Very nicely.” Jana smirked at Lance, who blushed. 

“I’d better be getting home.” Lance said, sheepishly trying to sidestep and avoid the subject in the water around them. “Take care Jana, nice to meet you Ella!” He hugged both girls goodbye. “Come find us the next time you’re in town!”

“We will! Be nice to our favorite reptile ok?” Ella said, fighting to not follow up the statement with a protective “or else”. She knew Lance was a good fish and would make her new friend very happy.

“It’s a promise!” He said, waving and smiling as he swam off back home.

Cici smiled after him. “Good kid.”

“Yeah, his family’s a bit much though.” Mizu muttered.

“Be nice sweetie!” The seal gently scolded before smiling at the girls, “Follow me, I’ll lead you back to the tunnel. You can make your way home much more easily once you’re on dry land.”

“What’s wrong with Lance’s family?” Jana asked, feeling a bit defensive of them as they swam out into the dark ocean. The sun must have been completely down by this time, and the water outside of the city was almost as black as Grey’s trench.

“Oh well, the family’s fine. The Grandpa just annoys me a little, is all. He was a pirate from about 100 years after… How best to put it… The industry went outta style. As such, he’s a bit of a fan boy for us pirates that was there during the “golden age”.” He said the last words in air quotes. 

“Oh…” Jana let her anger deflate a little. “Yeah, I can understand how that could get annoying for you.”

“Bill wasn’t from the same time period as Mizu?” Ella asked, trying to take her mind off how deep the surrounding darkness was. The city of Tellonna felt exotic and safe… but anything could be out in this pitch blackness.

“Nah, different century.” Jana admitted. “That’s why I called him “the best pirate you’ve never heard of”. He grew up hearing about pirates and decided it was the life for him and his friends, even if the lifestyle wasn’t as glamorous as it used to be. I probably did him a favor sending him down here.”

“He certainly seems to have done well for himse- What was that!” Ella clung tightly to Jana as she saw something move in the shadows. The four travelers remained perfectly still.

“Stay alert…” Mizu said quietly. “You are in no danger with us… but it could be anything out there…”

“Is… is it gone?” Ella asked after a long moment, unable to help herself.

In that instant, a giant white eye opened up to gaze down on them from the darkness. Ella let out a scream as the creature’s body gained a faint bioluminescence of its own. It’s outline became visible after a moment; a giant squid with a beak large enough to swallow even Mizu whole, blocking their way to the tunnel home.

Ella tried to turn to swim in the direction of the city, but Jana held her tightly, “Bunny! It’s ok!” 

“It is not ok Jana! That thing’s gonna eat us!” She screamed, “It’s going to….” She froze when she got a closer look and saw Mizu had swum up to the beast and was tickling around its beak. “Is… Is the giant squid purring?”

“Beaky! You naughty cephalopod!” Mizu said in a voice like someone scolding a puppy for peeing on the rug. “How many times have I told ya not to scare the newbies!”

“It’s your own fault for letting him swim around free without a leash. Take him home dear. I can take them the rest of the way.” Cici called before turning her attention to Ella. “I’m sorry that my husband’s pet scared you dear. Beaky is very well trained and never bites. He’s just a bit mischievous.”

Ella looked at the still glowing form of the enormous creature that the shark man was leading away. She was quiet for a moment. “Beaky… Cute name.” Her voice came out as a little squeak, still recovering from the scare.

Jana smiled and put an arm around Ella, “Come along bunny. Let’s get you home. It’s been a long day.”

Jana was right. A day under the sea and with the merfolk had been everything Jana had hoped for. But in that moment, the young woman just wanted to go home and cuddle in a dry warm bed with the woman she loved.


	14. Draw Me Like One of Your Norse Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Jana enjoy a quiet morning at home with waffles, cuddles and video games.
> 
> Spoiler warning! This chapter contains discussion of God of War 2018 and gives away some details of the ending!

One wish later and the girls were back at the house! There never was an easier way to commute! Though it was only beginning to get dark when Ella and Jana returned to their home, thanks to the difference in time zones, they were still pretty exhausted. “It’s amazing how tired and sore your legs can get after spending a day not using them at all” Ella thought to herself.

They each had a quick shower to wash out the sea salt, and went right to bed. They slept naked, holding each other close through the night, both dead tired and taking comfort in the other’s embrace.  
__________________________________________________________________

Once again, Ella was the first awake as the light of dawn came through the windows. She smiled at the beauty that had fallen asleep holding her to her chest. Ella decided then and there, this was the only way she wanted to sleep ever again!

Gently so she wouldn’t disturb the sleeping redhead, Ella turned over to look at the bedside clock. 8 am! They had slept for more than 12 hours! A realization like this would have normally triggered a panic attack in the trans girl, but today it only made her smile. She was finally starting to feel the true independence of her new life. In this house with her wonderful girlfriend, she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted!

Getting an idea, the brunette quietly snapped her fingers and turned herself back into a black bunny, to slip out of Jana’s arms and softly left the bed. She hopped over to the closet before transforming back, putting on a nightgown and making her way downstairs as quietly as she could. 

“Let’s see what we can do for breakfast in bed…” she said to herself as she entered the kitchen, humming a little song. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen had pretty much any object that she needed to cook with, and even a few utensils whose purpose was unknown to Ella. She found a cute tray to carry up the food, along with an adorable heart-shaped waffle iron. “Perfect!” she whispered to herself.

It was very quick work making the batter for both plain and chocolate chip waffles. Not knowing how Jana liked her waffles, Ella prepared a little bit of everything she could want, loading the tray with syrup, honey, peanut butter, Nutella, and whipped cream. 

She was just starting to wash and cut fresh strawberries when she thought she heard something from upstairs. She paused to listen before returning to her task. The sound came again, and she could hear it closer. A muffled voice and a little pop. “Hello?” She called cautiously into the house.

Faintly in the distance she could hear “Bunny?” Followed by a soft crack. “Sweetie?!” Followed by a louder crack from the top of the stairs. “ELLA?!” Jana’s voice came from the living room, sounding distressed.

“Jana!” Ella answered, running into the room and finding the genie, eyes wide, hair a mess.

“Oh thank the gods!” Jana ran to meet her lover, hugging her extra tight, her hands still shaking.

“Angel! What’s wrong?” Ella asked gently as she held the trembling redhead. She had never seen her so frightened. 

“You… You weren’t there when I woke up…” she took a deep breath and looked up into Ella’s face. “I was afraid… afraid something had happened to you… or that you’d left…”

“Oh Jana…” Ella pulled her even tighter to her body. “I’m so sorry I scared you! I just thought I'd surprise you with breakfast in bed!”

Jana groaned softly and hid her face behind the mass of her own hair. “I’m such an idiot…”

“None of that, missy!” Ella kissed her and helped pull the taller girl to her full height. “All you did was panic while you were half asleep…” she smiled remembering the cracking noises, “Did you… teleport all over the house looking for me?”

“Yes…” Even through the forest of red hair blocking her face, Ella could tell that Jana was blushing even harder than before.

“Hey now, that doesn’t mean you’re an idiot either, honey. If anything, I’d call that adorable actually.” Ella kissed the genie on her nose, making her smile. “Come along sweetie. Coffee is brewed, the table is set…” 

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud beeping of the fire alarm coming from the kitchen “...aaand the last waffle is burning! Excuse me sweetie!” Ella hastily stole a kiss before running off to open the windows and clear the smoke.

Ella quickly got the alarm to stop going off and got the last pieces of breakfast all ready. She decided they could both stand to have a more comfortable seat as they ate and brought the food into the living room, setting it down on the coffee table by the sofa. Jana, still getting over her fright moved as close to Ella she could, pinning her between the armrest and the genie’s body. 

Ella let out a little groan at the tight fit but she would not complain. That path led to weakness! Her girlfriend needed this! She would be strong!

Jana smirked, noticing the brief hesitation of the smaller girl. “You ok, bunny?” 

“Never better, angel.” Ella shifted in her seat just a little to get some pressure off her chest.

“Do you mind if I move about a little sweetie?” Jana asked, a hand playfully tickling her lover’s side.

“Yeah sure, sweetie! Whatever you need.” She tried her best to not sound too enthusiastic, but she was a small bean, not used to being the larger spoon.

“Thanks cutie.” Jana got up from her seat and plopped herself down in Ella’s lap. “There we go. Much better!” giggled to herself, getting a little fun out of making her girlfriend squirm.

Ella winced as the wind was knocked out of her. Ok, Jana was definitely doing this on purpose! It left Ella with two options. Either, let the genie keep this up and accept this wonderful death, or cheat. Ella snapped her fingers.

Jana gave a small “EEP!” as her seat shifted under her body and was surprised to feel strong arms wrap around her. She turned her head and stared, mouth open at a now 7 foot tall Ella smiling down at her. “Hey! That’s not fair!” she tried to complain while secretly reminding herself to ask Ella to make herself this tall later that night.

“Neither was trying to crush me under your cute butt! You play dirty, then so do I!”

Jana smiled and snuggled into her now giant girlfriend’s body, “My cute what-now?”

Ella blushed and looked away. “You know what I said!” 

Jana chuckled and stood up. “A truce for now then. You go back to classic size, and I won’t pin you under me… unless you ask for it. Deal?”

“Deal.” Ella said with a little squeak in her voice as she returned to normal size. 

As an apology for starting the cuddles arms race, Jana pulled Ella down to rest her head in the genie’s lap as she continued their meal. “Did you enjoy being tall for once, bunny?” She asked, cutting up waffles and feeding them to the beauty below her.

“Honestly, not really.” Ella admitted between mouthfuls. “I like being small and cute much more…” Before she knew she was a girl, Ella had hated being so short, but once she realized the truth, she became much happier with her diminutive frame. Her cheeks glowed red as she looked up at her girlfriend, “But it was nice to snuggle you that way, so… I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again if you wanted…” 

“It’s a date.” Jana was smiling outside, but inside she was doing a little victory dance and making plans for later. “Thanks for breakfast sweetie.” Jana bent down to kiss her one more time and waved her hands to send the dishes hovering through the air and into the kitchen sink, where they proceeded to wash themselves. 

“It’s nothing, angel.” Ella sat up from her lap and stretched. “Well now, we did what I wanted to do, yesterday. What do you want to do today, sweetie?”

Once again, Jana felt a happy surge at this wonderful girl thinking of her needs first. “Do you want to play some video games? I’d like to have a day or two for us to just enjoy our new home.”

“Oh sure!” Ella said, getting up for her seat to turn on the TV and PS4 without having to be asked. “What do you want to play?”

Jana was hesitant for a moment. “Do you mind if we play something single player? In the lamp, I didn’t get to know many co-op games.”

“No problem sweetie, whatever you want.” Ella smiled, knowing she’d have just as much fun watching Jana play as playing with her. 

“Well in that case…” She smiled excitedly and used her magic to pull a game from the shelf and hand it to Ella. 

The dark haired girl smiled down at the case. “God of War? Should have guessed.” Ella bent down to put in the disk.

“I know! I’m a basic bitch for Norse gods! But I can’t help it, it’s my favorite game ever!” She was bouncing excitedly in her seat as the company logos cycled past. 

Ella resumed her seat, more watching her girlfriend’s enthusiasm than the TV. “I’ve watched walk-throughs and know the story, but I haven’t played the games myself since the original God of War 2.”

Jana almost dropped the controller. “You haven’t played it?” Her tone sounded like a shocked child who met someone who had never heard of ice cream. She held out the controller to her dark haired lover, “You should play first then! I’ve done this loads of times!”

Ella smiled and pushed the remote back. “Don’t worry about me Jana, this is for you. Besides, you picked hard mode, I’m too much of a newbie for that.” She looked at the TV, now showing the game’s title and some ruins in a quiet forest. “I’ve got an idea to have my own fun with this. Be right back.” Ella gave her a quick kiss and ran off upstairs. Jana didn’t have long to wait as Ella returned with a large spiral bound notepad and a few pencils. “You play your favorite game, I get some practice drawing my favorite person!”

“Oh gods, you are adorable…” Jana said under her breath. She tried to distract from the cheesy comment by starting the game. Her smile was a little bittersweet as she once again joined the grumpy father, Kratos, and his young son, Arterus, in their mourning.

“Hello friends…” The Genie muttered. “You two have a long road ahead of you…”

Jana looked up when she heard Ella laugh. “Now who’s being adorable?” She was beaming at Jana from an armchair, looking between Jana’s face in profile and the TV as she worked quickly.

Jana smiled, only a little embarrassed as she continued playing. “It’s a habit you get into playing so many games by yourself. The things that I used to whisper to Tifa...” She trailed off, realizing that she had said too much.

Ella nodded her approval. “Good choice for a video game crush. Not gonna lie I think Final Fantasy must have made thousands of lesbians.” She thought back to her own girl crushes, “Yuna and Lulu… Heck all the girls from X. They gave you so many choices…” She looked up from her sketch pad as if making a sudden realization. “We’re both very strange girls, aren’t we.”

“Nah, we’re just fun! The rest of them are the weird ones.” Jana reassured her girlfriend without missing a beat. “What are you working on love?”

Ella brushed off some eraser shavings and turned the pad to a fresh page. “Like I said, getting some practice in drawing you. They’ll be great references for when I start to paint you.”

“References?” Jana repeated, pausing her game. “I thought I was going to model for you.” She couldn’t help but pout a little in her disappointment.

Ella took a moment, wanting to get the size and shape of the eyes in her sketch just right, before responding. “You can model for me too, angel. But the sort of ideas I have planned for you would take several days of painting to get right, maybe even weeks. Base coats, multiple layers of color and shading, it’ll be slow work. I couldn’t ask you to pose through the entire thing.”

“I guess that’s a point… Oh! But that means I could watch you work instead!” Jana unpaused and prepared herself mentally to fight the first troll, while also thinking of ways to pamper her artist through the creative process. 

“That’s the spirit!” Ella chuckled, jumping a little as the first boss came out of nowhere. “Jesus! How does something that big sneak up on you?” Looking from the TV to Jana, laser-focused on the fight, an idea came to Ella, and her pencil began working on a more detailed piece.

Jana untensed her body when the beast had fallen and she smiled sadly at the interactions of the onscreen father and son. “Poor kid. This little god has a lot of hardship in his future…” Jana sat up a little straighter, worried that she had said too much. “Oh Frigg…” She looked at Ella who only smiled back.

“Don’t worry. I already know how the game ends.” She knew exactly what was wrong. “I told you, I’ve seen walkthroughs, you haven’t spoiled the game for me, I promise.”

The genie sighed in relief and went back to the game, ready for her first fight with “The Stranger”. 

Proving her knowledge of the game once more, Ella said, “Not gonna lie, I didn’t pick this jerk as Balder. Not much about him screams “god of light”. Knew he couldn’t be Thor or any of the big name gods, but I couldn’t think who else he could have been.” She shrugged. “But most of the myths in this are different from how I’ve heard them anyway.” 

Ella returned to her drawing for a moment before she seemed to remember just who she was talking to. “Actually, how do the myths in this game hold up for someone who actually lived through it?”

The redhead thought for a moment how best to answer the question. “Well… keep in mind tons of the myths and stories you are familiar with are translations from after Christianity started interacting with my people. Most of the stories were lost in translation, or simply lost to time.” The genie looked down somberly, thinking about how much of her culture had faded from memory.

Jana continued. “Things got even more messed up once Marvel tried telling the stories too! For a simple start, Thor and Loki aren’t brothers, and Loki is not truly evil, he’s just a trickster.”

Ella nodded her understanding, all of that made sense. “I did think some of the stories I’d heard about Ragnarok seemed a little too Jesus-inspired. The god of light returning from the dead after the world has been destroyed and all that. So you’re saying missionaries and monks tweaked that story when they translated it?”

“Kind of…” said Jana, wavering her hand. “The long and short is that nobody gets my gods 100% correct. It didn’t help that the Norse in Ireland worshipped their gods differently than the ones in Norway and other countries. We had the same gods, but there were regional differences, or reasons some gods were more important to some people. It’s not like we were all working from the same holy book like modern religions. Folks like Rick Riordan and Neil Gaiman got our folk tales and gods pretty close, but still based a lot of their stories off the Christianized texts.”

Jana turned her attention back to the game on the TV. “Personally, this game is my favorite version of the pantheon I’ve seen, all thanks to Loki being a precious child and so much shade thrown at Odin for his dumbest decisions.”

Ella nodded in agreement “Atreus is adorable. But it would be fun if he grew up into genderfluid Tom Hiddleston.” She might have only liked women romantically, but she had always had a small “guy crush” on a few of the Marvel actors. 

Jana smiled wide, “Oh they had better make Atreus fluid in the second game! It’s one of the best parts of the Norse canon! Right above the fact that the God of Thunder and Destruction has a body that would pass for the Goddess of Love in the right dress!”

Ella let out a quick bark of a laugh. She was familiar with the story of Thor disguising himself as the goddess Freya by wearing a wedding dress, but she had never thought of it from that angle! “Somehow that makes the story even funnier! I always just thought the giants at the wedding were oblivious.”

Jana shrugged “It probably didn’t help them any that’s for sure.” She tried to focus on the game, especially since Brok, the foul-mouthed blue dwarf, was right around the corner, and she loved his scenes. 

However, the longer Jana played, the more curious she got about that sketchbook. Unable to hold her excitement anymore she asked, “Sooo… am I allowed to see what you’ve been working on, Bunny?”

Ella looked up from a doodle she was doing and turned the book back a few pages before handing it over. “Sure love. It’s all kinda rough, but I hope you like it.” 

Jana offered to let Ella play while she looked but the human turned her down. This wouldn’t take long and she wanted to watch her girlfriend’s reaction.

Jana looked down in pleasant surprise at the first page and saw a single large drawing of her own face and head. She could see that it hadn’t been a perfect process. There were smudges of erasers around the drawing’s chin and nose, but the likeness was still uncanny! Especially in the shape and expression of the eyes and smile. “This is wonderful, angel! You did this that fast?”

Ella couldn’t help but smile, enjoying her love’s appreciation for the work. “Look at the next page.” She said without further explanation, curious to see how she would take the rest of it.

The genie turned the page and found at least six other smaller versions of herself staring back up at her. These had been done much faster than the first and didn’t have as fine of detail, but had been used to practice things like how her hair would fall in different styles, or the lines of her face in different expressions. It made the genie laugh to recognize surprise, laughter, concentration and anger captured on her own face in the simple lines. 

She turned the page again and her jaw fell open. The picture was larger and more developed than the head shots, showing Jana in simple fur-lined armor, screaming and swinging the Leviathan axe at an approaching troll. “By the gods…” she said in quiet wonder at her partner's talents. “These are amazing, babe! You did all this while I was playing?”

“Yep!” Ella answered simply, smiling with pride. She enjoyed the praise immensely, but she wasn’t used to it, and wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Are you sure you didn’t have magic powers before I came along?” Jana was only half-joking.

“If I did then you are the first to notice.” Ella sighed, leaning back in her chair, dwelling briefly on bad memories.

Jana returned her gaze to the drawing as something new had caught her eye. The troll was different from the one she had just fought in the game. It was clear Ella hadn’t put the same amount of time or effort in the beast’s body as her own, but the troll’s face… seemed familiar… and female… “Sweetie, did you use your mother’s face for the troll?” 

The artist smiled bitter sweetly, “Yeah. I didn’t get the best look at the one in the game, so I just drew a monster I knew from memory.”

Jana almost laughed. It was darkly funny to think of herself hacking at a two-story version of Karen with a magic axe, but it did also remind Jana of everything Ella had gone through. “That monster can’t get you now Ella. I’ll make sure of that. I promise you.”

Ella reached across from her seat to squeeze Jana’s hand in hers. “I’m sorry if I’m bringing the mood of all this down darling…”

“You never need to apologize for anything when it comes to her, Ella. You put up with that your entire life. I know healing from it all will take time.” The genie got up to hug Ella, and they embraced in silence.

When they broke away Jana decided that she had had enough of the game for now and quickly saved it before turning the console off. However as the game shut down and the TV went black, she was reminded of another incident between a well meaning father and child.

“I never got the chance to tell you… When we left your parents’ house,” She had almost called it Ella’s old home, but no place could be called a home if you were that miserable. “I heard your dad correctly gender you and stand up for you.”

Ella would have been less shocked if Jana had said she’d seen her father dancing around in his underwear in the driveway. “He did what?”

Jana nodded. “Before I started shouting at Karen, I heard him saying that she had gone too far this time. He even called you “she” before she jumped down his throat. And after I was done, I heard him trying to confront Karen about hurting you.”

Ella took some time to answer after hearing this, but she managed to smile. “I guess the bitch finally went too far and even Jerry had to push back… Well now… maybe there’s hope for him after all… If the only family I had left was you and my brother, I could live my life every happily, Jana… But I do hope that dad keeps putting up a fight… Even if he never comes to accept me, nobody deserves to live with that troll…” 

“Yeah… Actually thinking of your brother, have you talked to him since moving out?” Jana asked after a quick realization.

Ella sat in silence for a beat, “Oh Frigg how could I have forgotten to tell David… I’ve been meaning to call him for days now!” Even leaving out the magical elements of the last couple of days, she still had so much to tell him! She had a girlfriend! She had a house! She had told their mother she could go pack sand!

“There’s no rush bunny, he’s not going anywhere. But why don’t you call him later tonight?”

She nodded and smiled nervously. Sure she was excited but Ella was also a bit anxious. Her life had changed so much, even if it all was for the better, she still wondered how he’d react to the news.

They spent some time sitting together in silence before Jana turned one more page of the notebook. She stared down at a little drawing in the bottom corner, “What’s this, bunny?” She asked, not sure if she was making it out right.

“Oh that? I was just doodling a kitten in a top hat.” The young lovers looked at each other and began laughing. It wasn’t even that funny, but both girls were happy they still could laugh about silly little things like this after all they had been through.


	15. A Surprise Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls talk about their future, play in garden and entertain an unexpected guest.

The young lovers continued their day by getting out of their pajamas and putting on comfortable work clothes, planning to do some of the needed hard work to make this house their home. Jana wore a baggy shirt and jeans, while Ella chose to wear a light blue dress. 

“You sure you want to wear something that nice to paint or dig in?” Jana asked, she appreciated the look, but feeling that it seemed better suited for a garden party than gardening. 

“I’m not worried.” Ella pulled a cute straw sun hat out from the closet to complete the outfit. “I’m thinking more about looking cute while I work than if the outfit is practical. We can always magic away any bad stains if I make a mess after all.”

“That’s a fair point.” Jana smiled, agreeing that Ella’s mission to just be cute was absolutely a success. But then again, Jana thought her girlfriend was adorable in everything. “I’m guessing by the hat that you want to work in the garden first?”

Ella nodded and smiled. “I don’t know much about flowers, but I’ve always wanted to try having a little vegetable garden. Just a small patch of dirt to dig in and grow a few of my own things.”

“Karen wouldn’t even let you do that?” Jana sighed, getting more and more exasperated every time she heard about Ella’s former captor. “Was there anything that troll would let you do!” Whenever her girlfriend’s horrible childhood was brought up, the genie wanted to hug her for an hour, then go and hex the person responsible.

“Oh there were plenty of things she’d let me do for “fun”,” Ella said, putting air quotes around the word. “I could read books that Karen approved of, do homework, math team, sports teams, mock trial, debate club… Well, okay, the debate club wasn’t that bad. I actually learned a lot while I was there. But she made me quit when she heard that we were debating political and divisive issues.”

Jana brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed it in frustration. “Of course you were debating divisive issues in the debate club! What did they think you would be debating? Paper bags vs plastic!?”

“Yeah, I think she was expecting that.” Ella sighed, looking out the window. “Karen basically tried to convince me from the age I could walk that I wanted to be either a lawyer, a banker, or a doctor when I grew up...” Ella thought for a moment but got a defiant smile, “There’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I know that we wanted to keep the outside of the house simple so we don’t draw attention to us, but can I hang some pride flags from the widows?”

“Oh, is that all! Sure thing, sweetie!” Jana waved her hand through the air and a few folded, brightly colored flags appeared in her hands. “What sort do you want to put up? I’ve got the rainbow, lesbian, trans? Maybe all of the above?”

Ella smiled and happily took the blue, pink and white trans pride flag. “I think I’ll find a place for all of them somewhere! Thanks, angel! How many wishes am I on now?”

“These didn’t cost you a wish, bunny.” The genie smiled, “I thought you’d want to put a few flags up somewhere, so I had a stack of these waiting in a closet for when you were ready.”

Ella smirked as she unfolded the one she was holding and draped it around her shoulders like a cape, something else she had always wanted to do. “So you’re saying the flags came out of the closet?”

“You could say that yeah.” Jana chuckled, partly at the pun, but mostly because she saw it coming from so far away. She had even been keeping the pride flags in the closet, specifically so she could hear Ella make such a goofy joke and enjoy herself that much! 

Ella took off her sun hat and walked to the window, opening it and examining the sill. “Hmm this should work… Sweetie, could you please get me a screwdriver and a box of short screws with wide heads?”

“Sure thing bun-bun!” Jana snapped again and a power drill appeared in one hand and a box of screws in the other. “Had these waiting in a toolbox in the basement. You sure you want to hang the flags up here? I can add us a flag pole to the front steps if you want.”

She shook her head and accepted the tools. “Nah, putting them up here on the second floor means that no jerks could try and steal them.” She hummed as she worked, needing to speak a little louder while the power tool was running. “Karen has a friend that makes it her habit to take down any flags she doesn’t like!”

“That troll has friends?!” Jana asked in disbelief.

Ella shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d call Amanda a friend. More like a person close by that hates most of the same things she does.” Ella looked down at her work before smiling and closing the window again. “Let’s put the rainbow flag on the library window sill.”

“Amanada is just as mean as Karen, but not as smart. She doesn’t ever stop to think about something before she does it.” Ella continued the story as they walked together to the next room. “One time, I was in the living room when they were talking in the kitchen, and Amanda was saying how proud she was of stealing a strange pride flag hanging outside of a store. I managed to see the picture she had taken of it before tossing the flag in a nearby dumpster… It was the flag for Puerto Rico.” Ella opened the window and got the screws ready. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that level of stupidity.”

“Sheesh, I know what you mean!” Jana said with a chuckle, knowing doing something that dumb and petty would get this woman in trouble eventually. “What about Karen? Did she know what the flag actually was?”

“If she did, she didn’t say anything.” Ella closed the window, her work done. “I think she knew and just didn’t want to correct Amanda… Maybe they’re both racist as well as homophobic and didn’t want to say it out loud with me there. I don’t know. I could easily believe either.” She looked at the lesbian pride flag for a moment. “I think I’ll hang this on a wall in our room later tonight, if that’s good with you.”

“I’m game for it.” Jana looked out the window, the color of the flag reflecting up into the glass. “Hey Ella? With people like that in this town, have you ever given thought to moving away? Finding a nice quiet spot away from the Karens and Amandas?”

Ella handled the material of the third flag as she thought. “Sure, I’ve dreamed about getting out of this stink hole for years… Trouble is, I’ve never been sure just where else I would go.” She looked up at Jana, “You know as well as I do that there are very few spots in the world without people like them. Heck, you’ve taken me to two of the only places I know completely devoid of bigots!” 

“You make a good point. Still some places are better than others.” With the indirect mention of the werewolf village and Tellona, Jana was reminded of Grey’s words to her back in that old gutted ship. She would need to find a chance to talk to Rhea, sooner rather than later, about keeping or relearning her magic powers once she was free. 

“You said before your brother has a place in Canada?” said Jana. “Maybe we could go see the town he lives in. Might be nice to move closer to him... And we could stop in to see Logan and Sophia while we are in the neighborhood.”

Ella shrugged and smiled, putting the flag down and retrieving her sun hat from the other room before speaking. “That’s not a bad idea, angel. I would love to see Logan and the whole family again. The pup will be so pleased to know we met a fan of his! But David?” The girl’s smile faded slightly as she thought of her brother. “I don’t know. I feel like he’d have a lot of questions if we come for a surprise visit to Canada without any warning.” 

“Oh right…” Jana giggled. “Yeah, you should probably have that phone call we talked about with him before we try anything like that.” 

“Come on. Let’s get down there and start working.” Ella took Jana by the hand and led her downstairs and out again to the back yard. She chuckled at the swimming pool that had started the train of thought that led to the previous day’s adventures, but they continued on past it to large empty beds of topsoil that lined the bottom of the fence. 

“Now then!” Ella looked about excitedly before realizing she had no idea what she was doing. “... Where do we start exactly? Do we use seeds or plants? Are there tools?”

Jana chuckled and smiled. “Last question first; yes we have tools.” She gestured towards a small shed in the back corner of the yard, just a little place big enough for the gardening equipment and pool supplies. “But we might need to wish for the plants. I couldn’t get those in advance because I didn’t know what you would want.”

“That’s ok. We can figure it out as we go.” Ella smiled. “Why don’t you conjure whatever you want for the flower garden, and I’ll help you plant them while I think about what I’ll wish for to plant in the vegetable patch?” She walked over to the shed and came back with a shovel, two spades, two pairs of gloves and a watering can.

The human was only a little surprised by the large assortment of flowers that Jana had assembled. There were several pallets of poppies and carnation flowers in different colors as well as the bare unimpressive branches and roots of five brushes ready to be planted. “Made up your mind already? That was quick,” Ella laughed as she examined the plants. “What are these?” She asked, examining one of the bushes and noticing thorns. “Roses?”

Jana nodded. “Two red roses, two butterfly bushes and one hydrangea.” She pointed them each out as she explained, “They’ll take some time to grow out, but it’s no fun if we are just planting the bushes already in full flower.” 

Ella smiled, appreciating the idea of not just using magic to make the entire garden perfect in an instant. These gardens would take lots of love and attention to get them the way they wanted. She picked up the shovel and walked to the edge of the bed. “Right then. You point me where you want them and I’ll start digging the spot!”

With the dirt of the topsoil being freshly conjured two days before, it easily gave way to their tools, but it was still very messy work. Jana had been right, Ella’s sundress was not the right thing to wear for this job! But she wasn’t worried, no matter how messy the outfit got, she knew it was salvageable with some magical dry cleaning. 

While Ella worked to dig the large holes and get the bushes in place, Jana went about on her knees with a spade digging and placing all the smaller plants, making sure that the colors were coordinated and diverse. Looking a little closer, Ella also saw that she was occasionally planting a few seeds from a strange plant pod. “What are those?” She asked, pointing to the seeds as she leaned on the shovel. 

“Milkweed seeds. Something else for the butterflies.” Jana said, brushing off her mud covered gloves.

“Milkweed? Isn’t that… well a weed? Something you pull up?” Sure Ella didn’t know much about plants, but it did seem odd to be intentionally planting something people usually worked to get rid of.

“You aren’t wrong, but it’s the primary food for Monarch caterpillars. With the bushes we have food for the adults, and with these we have food for the little ones.” She stood up and smiled proudly, “Come spring, there could be dozens of butterflies around here, and more on the way next year. The garden could be a regular nursery for them!”

“That actually sounds amazing!” Ella was more than willing to put a few ugly plants in the garden if it had that sort of benefit. She took a moment to examine their work. While the garden looked a little sparse and bare, she knew that could be fixed very quickly once everything grew in with time, and she couldn’t wait to see how beautiful it would be!

“Your turn, love.” Jana carefully got up and moved away from the flowerbed. “Got any ideas for the vegetable patch?”

Ella turned back to the bare flower bed. Sure she had always dreamed of having a vegetable garden, but she had never thought she’d have so much to work with! She would have been happy with a large pot or a few widow boxes! “Well… A couple cherry tomatoes to start with. Maybe a few kinds of peppers. A little patch of herbs we can grow fresh…” She thought for a moment. “Strawberries would be fun but I don’t know if it’s the right season for them…. Let’s just start with what we have, and I might add more later.”

“Can do!” Jana snapped her fingers but was surprised that nothing happened. “Um… Will do…” She tried again and still nothing. “What the… Oh! That was stupid of me! We don’t have that stuff here, so you’d need to use a wish to conjure them. Or I could just go to the store if you want to save the wish for something this simple.”

Ella gave a little laugh that her lover had managed to briefly forget the rules of her own magic. “Well how many wishes do I have?”

Jana thought for a moment, “Should be… 14 now.”

“14? But didn’t you say it was 13 before the shoal house?” She counted in her head. She had used one wish on Chase, one on Grey, and one to get them home. “Shouldn’t I be down to 10?”

The genie shook her head and counted on her fingers. “You selflessly used a wish to help me and Grey make peace, let me spend time with Bill, comforted me when I was scared this morning, and helped with my garden first. You used three yesterday and already got four back.”

“Huh.” Ella shrugged and playfully poked Jana in the side with her dirty gloved hands. “Maybe you should stop being so wonderful, angel. I’d have less reason to be nice to you and actually use a few wishes up.”

Jana playfully pouted. “Why would you want to use them up? I’d almost think you want to get rid of me!”

“Never!” Ella rushed over quick enough to knock off her hat and hugged the taller girl tight. “You aren’t getting away from me that easily!”

The genie blushed but fully approved of the adorable enthusiasm. “I don’t plan to go away anytime soon.”

Ella kissed her and smiled mischievously “Soon? You planning to trade me in for a newer model at some point? Jokes on you babe! The girlfriend store doesn’t allow refunds or exchanges! You’re stuck with me!”

“Gods, you are such a dork!” She happily returned the kiss. “But that just makes me love you more.”

“I love you too, angel!” The girls just held each other for a while, knowing but not caring dirt was getting smeared all over themselves and their outfits. 

After a while Jana patted Ella on the back. “Come on, Ellie. Back to work. Make the wish for your plants and we can finish up here. We can cuddle all we want once we’re cleaned up.”

Briefly distracted by the mental image of Jana in the shower, Ella nodded, voice unintentionally squeaking as she answered. “Right! Back to work!”

__________________________________________________________________

With the wish made, 13 left, Ella would try her best to keep a better track of the number from now on, the garden work was quickly wrapped up. The little plants were in their new homes, watered, fed and the tools were put away.

The next job for the girls was to clean themselves up… which took longer than it probably needed two with both girls deciding to help each other in the shower... Eventually they were clean and dressed in baggy shirts and yoga pants and ready for the next part of their day.

“Mind if I go paint for a while babe?” Ella asked after thinking for a bit. “I’ve had an idea rolling around in my head since this morning and I’d like to get started on it.”

“Sure!” She hopped up her seat on the bed. “Can I come too?”

The artist gave a small apologetic shrug. “You can if you want to, but there’s not going to be much to look at for a while. Gotta decide on blocking, staging, color choices, base coats. You won’t start seeing the fun parts of the painting for a few hours.”

“Oh…” She hadn’t thought about that.

Ella put a hand on Jana’s shoulder. “Hey, we don’t have to do everything joined at the hip, sweetie. Why don’t you play your game some more and check on me in an hour or two?” Knowing that her girlfriend was still a bit disappointed, Ella leaned in and whispered in her girlfriend’s ear, “I might need your help with a second shower by then.”

Standing a little straighter with something to look forward to, Jana smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me! Call if you need anything, ok bunny?” 

Ella laughed at the sudden improvement of Jana’s mood. “Of course, babe.” The girls stole one more kiss before splitting off to the studio and the living room, respectively.

Jana played her game rather happily for a while, until the game’s version of Freya entered the picture. Once alone with Kratos, the Vanir goddess hiding as a witch had words with him. Words of how him hiding his true nature from his son would eventually get the boy hurt. She paused the game and got up from her seat.

Much like the struggling father and former war god, Jana’s secret fear of losing her magic would get her in trouble if she didn’t say something soon…. “Over dinner tonight maybe...” She took a deep breath and nodded, determined to confront the elephant in the room. “What time is it?” She asked no one in particular and looked for a clock to see the time. She was surprised to see it was after 5! The day had just gone flying past!

“Gotta start thinking about what to cook…” She restarted her game and went a little further, knowing that the giant noodle (AKA the world serpent) and another fun dwarf scene was coming up.

“What do you think, Boy?” She asked the game, unable to resist slipping into the Kratos voice. “What sounds good to you for dinner?” The game said nothing back (thankfully) but she kept her old joke going as she made Kratos open a big chest. “Idun Apples? That’s all you ever want to eat Kratos.”

The more she thought about it, the more Jana was starting to crave a pizza. She smirked at the idea. There was something exceptionally lazy about being able to conjure food from the air and still not wanting to cook. Still, she’d run the idea past Ella. Easy comfort food with no clean up would be great to have their little talk over.

Suddenly, Jana sat up in surprise when she heard the ringing of the doorbell. She looked down at her hands, wondering for a moment if she had accidentally summoned the pizza guy. “I’ll get it love!” She called up the stairs, feeling if this wasn’t pizza, it was better if she talked to whoever it might be.

Walking to the door, she opened it, and gasped. Standing on the doorstep was Ella’s father; Jerry!

The thoroughly hen-pecked husband stood there rather awkwardly. “Hello Miss Murphy… I had hoped I had the right house.” Jana said nothing, but only stared at him in the awkward silence, waiting for his explanation. “I… um… I came because I wanted to speak to Ella.” He picked up a canvas shopping bag steaming at his feet, “I brought a lasagna and garlic bread as a peace offering.”

At least it wasn’t a pizza. That would have made the genie feel like her magic truly had lost control. Jana was quiet for a beat longer. “Is she with you?” She asked simply, seeing no one else in the car he had parked down the driveway. If Ella had looked out the studio window, she could have probably guessed who was at the door.

“I came alone.” Jerry said quickly. “Karen doesn’t know I’m here. She thinks I’m working late.”

Now that was a surprise… Eventually, Jana stood aside to let him by. “Come in then Mr. Grant.” While his back was turned she used a little magic to make the house more believable to his mind. The mural in the living room was unfinished and boxes of things to still unpack were scattered around now and then through the house. She didn’t want him to think that the home was near perfect so soon after moving in.

“Right.” She said once the door was closed behind them. “First things first Jerry, how the Helheim did you find where we were?”

He was a bit put off by the unique form of swearing but could provide an answer. “It was the flags. The trans pride flag on a newly bought house caught my attention. Then I did a little digging at the bank to confirm. Found a record of the sale to you.” He chose not to say how strange the speed of the transaction had been, or how she had paid much more than the house was worth. Sure this odd girl had money, and lots of it, but that could only cut through red tape so fast on the best of days.

“I see…” She too was a bit suspicious of him correctly identifying the flag by name, but she would leave that be for now. “Alright Jerry. I let you in because you used Ella’s proper name. And I’ll hear you out because you didn’t tell Karen where to find her… Wait here and I’ll see if Ella wants to talk. And I’ll even put in a good word for you because of what you said at the house the other day. But I’m warning you now, misgender her or dead name her even once, even by accident in this house and you are out. No do overs. Are we clear?” She put a little of her Viking glare into this final ultimatum to make sure he got it.

“Clear as crystal Jana.” He said with a gulp. “I just want to see my daughter.”

Jana wasn’t sure if he had correctly gendered Ella again out of true parental concern, or out of fear of her, but she liked it in either case. “Wait here then. I’ll see what she says.”

Going upstairs, she found Ella seated against a wall in the studio, hugging her knees. “Is it her?” She asked, voice trembling a little.

Jana went over to her, ignoring the unfinished canvas for now. There was only one piece of art she was worried about. The Norse girl couldn’t help feeling concern for the woman she loved and rage at the monster who had done this, growing in equal measure. “No bunny. It’s Jerry. He came alone and he brought dinner.”

“Dad’s here?” She asked in surprise. It was so rare for him to do anything on his own.

Jana nodded. “He called you by name and said all he wants is to see his daughter. He’s waiting in the kitchen with lasagna. But if you don’t want to talk to him, I’ll send him on his way.”

Ella stood up after a brief hesitation. “No. If he’s gendering me correctly and sneaking around behind the bitch, I want to see what he has to say.” She focused her powers and made her female traits just a little less dramatic so the transformation of recent days wouldn’t shock him. Her hair was shorter and the curves of her body smoothed out a little. “How do I look?” She asked, keeping her voice the same as she could blame that on training and practice.

“You still look like my beautiful Ella.” Jana reassured her, knowing how much she had loved her body’s ideal form and how much it took for her to change herself.

The human smiled and sighed before leading the way down stairs.

Jerry heard them coming before he saw them. “Hello Ella I…” he trailed off as his child entered the room. He had been surprised to see her in the dress two days ago, but now… even in an old t-shirt covered in paint, her female identity felt so clear he was surprised he had never truly seen it till it was right in front of him.

“Hello Jerry.” She said a little coldly. “Glad to hear you finally use my name after years of asking.”

That made him regain his senses pretty quick. “Yeah… Yeah I…” he took a deep breath to prepare himself. “Ella, I wanted to say... I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for everything I let your mother get away with over the years… I should have done something long ago.``

“Yes, yes you should have Jerry. Done something, maybe said ANYTHING! But better late than never!” Ella glared at him, wondering if he’d say more. This wasn’t much of an apology, but it was more than she would have hoped to get this time last week. “... dad, did something happen?” She sat down, her tone softening a little as she was getting curious now.

The older man sighed again, personal shame not letting him meet his daughter’s gaze before he continued. “Karen has been… unhinged since you girls left. To put it mildly, life hasn’t been fun the last few days.”

Ella scoffed, “Not to be that person, but has life ever been fun with her?”

“... not for years at least. Not since you kids were little.” Jerry admitted, lost in thought in memories of old times. “Back then, I can’t speak for you and David, but I could at least enjoy being a father without her ruining it all…”

Jana and Ella exchanged a look. Sure neither of them had thought Jerry and Karen had the best relationship, but he spoke now as someone else who seemed to suffer under the woman’s iron fist.

Ella sighed. “You did manage to give me a few good memories dad. You were the one I could talk to about problems and maybe get an answer. You would play back now and then, and you would listen to us.”

She hesitated to call him a good father. A good father wouldn’t have let Ella go through years of Karen’s tyranny without saying something… But maybe he had said something, and the bitch had just ignored it. Maybe he had fought and she had never seen it. “Jana says you even defended me and my art to her when I left.”

He smiled weakly, “I still don’t think being a painter professionally is a great career path, but if you painted for fun, especially as well as you do, I was all for it. Everyone needs a hobby. But Karen…” he let out another sigh. “She went way too far.”

Ignoring him referring to her paintings as a mere hobby, Ella jumped back in. “Too far was the first time she painted over my murals while I was out of the house, Jerry. Last time she destroyed my things and hit me. I’m not going back. No matter what she says.” She assumed that’s what this was all building up to. That her father would beg Ella to come home to calm Karen’s rampage and he’d promise to try and work to make things better, but very little would actually change.

“I’m not asking you to come back.” He said without hesitation.

Okay, that was unexpected. Ella blinked in surprise. “... Run that by me again?”

“You’re living with a nice girl, doing very well from the look of things and can support yourself.” He showed a brief moment of backbone as he looked sternly at Jana, “As long as you treat my daughter with the respect you showed the other day, I’m in full support of your relationship…”

Jana smiled, glad to see the father taking a stand.

“But dad, why are you here then?” Ella asked, now more than a little confused and wanting answers.

“Because I wanted to see that you were ok… And… To tell you I’m thinking of getting a divorce…”


	16. A Talk With the Old Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Jerry and Jana discuss a few of their secrets with Ella.
> 
> Trigger Warning: discussion of secondary character death and drowning.

That was the last thing Ella had expected to hear from her father. This soft spoken doormat of a man was going to stand up to the dragon lady? Was the world going insane? “I… I’m not going to lie, Jerry. That’s the best thing I’ve heard you say in years. It’d be great for you and all of us if you do it! But... are you sure?”

Jerry shrugged a little and sighed, “Yes… no… maybe? I don’t know!” He threw his hands up in exasperation, “This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about leaving her… In fact, for years I’d told myself I’d divorce her as soon as you were out of college, you know? That old line.”

Another surprise from her father. Ella never would have guessed he had been thinking of separating for that long. “So why didn’t you?” She asked, moving a little closer to him and genuinely interested.

“Well for one, I know it’s not what she wants. Karen will fight the very idea of divorce tooth and nail to keep her image. Not just that, but I’d lose a lot in the break-up…” 

He felt like less of a man admitting this weakness. “The house is in her name, she controls most of the finances and makes most of the money. If I leave her, well where would I go then? What could I do? I barely even have friends I could ask for help… I’d be free, but I’d have next to nothing...”

Ella stared at her father, understanding more and more the power and control Karen had over his life, maybe more than either of their children. “Dad… Can I ask what might be a hard question?”

“Sure thing Ella.” He was already so exposed and vulnerable, he might as well keep it going.

“Why did you ever marry mom?”

Jerry took a moment to think how best to answer that. “Well, the short version is... she was a friend from my hometown. I’d just had a bad shock after finishing college. She was there…tried to help me a little with my feelings. We got drunk… And before we knew it, David was on his way. I felt I kinda had to marry her then. Our families were more than happy with us, though they never knew she was pregnant at the ceremony. It was the right thing to do.”

Well, that explained why neither of her parents had ever talked about the “wild romance of their younger years”. Karen would have worked very fast to solve a problem like that before anyone found out. But there was something particularly evasive about Jerry’s answer. “What about the long version, dad?”

Jerry gave his daughter a sad smile. “I should have guessed you would have wanted to know the rest…” He thought about it for a few seconds and shrugged, “Why not… I’ve said so much already today. Back in college I had someone very special that I wanted to marry… but they died. Hence the shock I mentioned… I never got over it…”

“That’s horrible…” Jana spoke up, feeling a connection to the man with shared pain. “What was her name?”

He smiled bitter sweetly, the last secret falling away. “Oliver.”

Ella choked, not sure if she had heard him right, “Did you say Olivia, dad?”

“No… no I didn’t…I said Oliver. I’m bisexual…”

For a moment, the room was absolutely silent. Ella took a moment to digest this new information. What it meant for her father and the sad life he had led with her mother. “Oh dad…” Ella finally got up from her seat and pulled her dad into a tight hug. Father and daughter held each other close, tuning out the rest of the world, apart from Jana standing quietly beside them both. “Why didn’t you ever say anything before now?” Ella asked after what seemed like hours of silence.

“Karen.” He said in a small huff. “When she found me crying alone in that bar, I told her part of why I was upset. Never the whole story, but it was enough for her to work with. She got inside my head more than a little bit. Told me that I was probably just confused and had been experimenting in college. That I didn’t know what I was talking about. She was sure Oliver had been a “very nice friend”,” He grumbled in quotes. “But that the relationship would have never worked! She reminded me of my parents and grandparents, people her family were very close to… What they would have done if they ever found out.… In my grief, my confusion and my need for the pain to stop…” A sob escaped his throat as he began to cry, “I believed her… I hid everything. Buried everything about that old life and fell into the new life ready and waiting for me… The life that she controlled...” 

The girls were quiet beside him. They both knew he had to get his feelings out after hiding them for so long. Remembering the help Ella had been to her, Jana tried a similar tactic with Jerry. “Tell us about Oliver. What do you remember best from those times?”

“I…” A small smile came to his face as he found the memories coming back. More vibrant and clear than he had expected after so long hiding them. “Oliver Crane… His full name was Oliver Crane… He was a year ahead of me in college, studying marine biology. He was fascinated by the sea. It’s beauty, it’s mystery…” He sat up a little straighter and his smile grew wider as he re-lived those moments. “We met in our biology lab. We had to dissect a little squid. The poor guy kept switching between fascination and sobbing that something so “cute” had had to die! It was kind of adorable…” 

Now that he had started telling the story, it seemed he didn’t want to stop. “We spent so much time together once we got to know each other. I got him a saltwater aquarium for his birthday and he was so happy that he kissed me without pausing to think!” He looked up at his daughter and blushed a little talking about such personal memories. “I didn’t even know he was gay then… Hell, I didn’t know I liked men at all for that matter… but Oliver was so sweet and funny and kind… I didn’t question it.”

Knowing that this conversation meant more to parent and child, Jana quietly moved away from the table to preheat the oven, knowing both that the food had gone cold, and that these two were likely to talk for hours if someone didn’t get dinner ready. Besides, she could still hear everything that was said and comment if she wanted.

“We began dating in secret almost immediately, and became college roommates soon after that day,” Jerry continued. “It was a different time than things are now, so it was our best chance to be together without raising too much unwanted attention. But we always talked about running away together after school, to a place that would treat us better and where we wouldn’t have to love in secret. Given his work, Oliver loved the idea of California or even Hawaii, and I would have been happy anywhere he was…”

Jerry’s face fell and both girls knew they had come to the most difficult part of the story. “What happened to him dad?” Ella asked softly.

“He took a job in California as a research assistant… It was a great chance to find us an apartment and start making us a life out there while I finished my degree.” His voice quivered as he remembered how close they had gotten to their life together. “He went out to sea for a research expedition… He fell overboard in the night… they… they never found…” he broke down in tears, unable to finish the thought.

Ella held her father again, tighter this time. “I’m so sorry, dad… I… I wish I could’ve known him.” She couldn’t think of what else to say. It wasn’t every day that you found out you almost grew up with two dads. 

Jerry nodded, wiping her eyes “You would have loved him, Ella… But then again, without Karen I’m not sure you or David would’ve been here. I miss him… but I wouldn’t trade you two for anything.”

“I might not have met David, Jerry, but I think I can say that Ella at least didn’t get any of her best traits from Karen.” Jana rejoined the conversation as an oven timer went off and the food came out. “I think you and Oliver would have found a way to your great kids sooner or later.”

Both Jerry and Ella were surprised to see a plate of lasagna and garlic bread served up and ready for each of them. They both had lost track of the time, just as Jana had predicted. “Thanks again for bringing dinner, Jerry.” Jana said, once the table was set and they had started to eat. “This might only be my second time eating your food, but I think I can call you an amazing cook!”

“Thanks, Jana.” He said softly, not eating much himself with so much on his mind. “You know, cooking was my hobby when I was younger. I’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years.”

Ella knew when he said “hobby” in such a way, he was comparing it to her paintings, which probably meant the right word was “passion”. Something he wanted to do but never got the encouragement or confidence to follow through on it.

“I always said you looked happiest in the kitchen, Dad.” Ella smiled a little, taking a big bite and taking comfort in the familiar taste from long ago. “Did you ever want to be a cook?”

“What, professionally? Only as a kid. Your grandfather didn’t approve of men in the kitchen.” That sentiment hadn’t even made sense to him as a small child. It was also ironic that, in marrying Karen to have a wife and lifestyle his family would approve of, he would have still been a disappointment to his father because his wife was the breadwinner.

Ella actually laughed before she could stop herself. “If he didn’t approve of something as simple as a man cooking for his own family, then I’m glad he never got a load of me!”

“Oh, I’m sure you girls make all four of your grandparents roll in their graves all the time! Keep it up, they could use the exercise.” Silence followed this comment from Jerry. Jana was the first to break, snorting as she started laughing. That was enough to infect the others, and soon all of them were laughing fit to burst. That night was the most Jerry had smiled or laughed in years…  
__________________________________________________________________

They had eaten rather quickly, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the meal. When it was over, Ella had offered to get out some ice cream for dessert, but Jerry knew he had stayed too long already. He would have to get back home soon…

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here, dad? We have a guest room.” Ella offered. She still hadn’t completely forgiven him for his inaction in her life, but she was still afraid to let him go back to that disaster of a house.

He smiled, “Thanks for the offer, Ella. I might need to take you up on that offer soon, but not just yet. I have a lot to think about before I give Karen the ultimatum. I’d need to talk to a lawyer first if nothing else.” He breathed deeply to steady himself. “I’m just going to have to act like things are normal for a few days until it’s all ready.” 

“Yikes…” Jana covered her mouth, having said that without meaning to.

“Yikes indeed.” Jerry agreed with a smile. “It’ll be tough, but I can finally see the light in the dark.”

Ella smiled. “You know where to find us if you need anything, dad. Just call first to make sure we’re home ok?” Thinking of phones, she remembered something else, “I was going to call David later tonight. Do you want me to not say anything about you and mom?”

He thought for a beat then nodded his head. “It will probably be a while until I can talk to him where Karen won’t hear. If you want to tell him about the divorce, go ahead. But don’t say anything about Oliver just yet. I think I want to tell him that myself.”

“Of course,” She said, knowing the dangers and damage that outing someone before they were ready could do. Ella hugged him one last time for the road, “Stay safe, Dad. And don’t let her get away with any more of her bullshit.” She was happy that there was hope for him after all, even if it was a faint hope.

Jerry smiled, feeling closer to his child than he ever had. “Language, little lady. I’ll see you soon, Ella.” He looked at Jana, “And I want a word with you before I go too. Walk with me out to the car?” 

Jana agreed, exchanging a look with Ella before grabbing the washed casserole dish and following him out to the hall. She was familiar with the old cliche of fathers trying to scare their daughter’s significant others into behaving themselves, but Jerry didn’t seem like the type to do that.

Once they were outside and the door closed behind them, he turned to talk to the genie. “Right. You seem like a very nice girl. You are smart, honest, considerate and you do really care for my daughter… But I have to know, are your family criminals?”

Jana’s eyes widened in surprise at the question. “I’m sorry?”

“Is your family in the mafia or something? Money laundering? Drugs? Anything like that?”

She would have laughed if his questions weren’t so earnest. “What would make you think that?”

He gestured at the house they were standing next to. “This! I can believe a rich girl has the money to rent a nice place, but I’ve seen the records. You bought this house. Cash. And the paperwork went through ridiculously fast.” 

Jana felt a bit embarrassed that her magical acquisition of the house had been so easy to spot trace and poke holes in. She solemnly held up her hand. “Jerry, I promise you on my mother’s grave that none of my money, or anything I’ve bought with it, was done immorally. One day soon I’ll give you a full explanation, but for now let’s just say I come from very old money, and the owner was very anxious to sell.” 

Jerry knew that that couldn’t be the total truth, but Jana had said she would explain eventually. “... Alright then. I was allowed my secret for a long time. You can keep yours as long as you need, Jana.” He extended a hand for her to shake. “I’m glad to have you as part of the family.”

She smiled, feeling so touched she almost wanted to cry! She skipped over the hand and moved forward to hug him. “Thanks for having me, Jerry!” 

He accepted the hug, breaking away after a moment, before turning to walk down to his car, like a man returning to prison after some time outside his cell. Jana stayed on the front porch and watched his car until he had driven away out of sight. 

Reentering the house, Jana jumped a little to find Ella had been listening at the door. “Everything okay, love? I couldn’t hear him very well.”

Jana chuckled, “Nothing much. Your dad just asked if my family was the Yakuza. Do you want anything for dessert?”

Ella put a hand on her lover’s shoulder to stop her from going back into the kitchen to conjure up some tiramisu. “Could you… run that by me again, Jana?” 

“Your dad’s bank has a record of our home sale. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t paying for all this with a secret pot farm or something.” She tried to play it off as a joke, but she could see the wheels turning in Ella’s head and knew that she was concerned too.

“Oh Frigg… If dad found the record, then Karen… We might need to think about moving up with David sooner than I thought.” She bit her lip and her hands were fidgeting with nerves.

“Bunny, please calm down. It’s ok.” Jana said softly with both hands on her shoulders. “That bitch can’t do anything to us here. In fact, say the word and I’ll make it so she can’t even enter the house.”

“You can do that?” Ella asked, her anxiety calming down a little knowing there were steps they could take. 

“Oh yes. One wish and it’s easy.” 

“Oh right, magic…” She took a breath to calm herself down and thought how best to phrase the spell. “I… I wish that Karen is unable to enter the house unless she is invited.” 

“Good thinking Ellie.” Jana snapped her fingers and a subtle energy went through the house. “There. She can’t break in. She can’t climb in a window. Someone in the house has to ask her to come in. This way if the bitch tries to be civil, she could come in and not question the forcefield.” 

“Ok. That’s better.” Ella kissed her girlfriend in thanks and took her hand, pulling her back into the kitchen so they could clean up what was left of dinner. Now that they were safe, her mind returned to the issues Jerry had brought up. “So… how are we going to explain your “wealth” to my dad the next time he asks?”

Jana shrugged, collecting up the dishes and piled them in the sink. “I figured I’d tell him the truth.”

“You’d what?!” Ella said, louder than she meant to.

“I’d tell him the truth. Not right away, but there’s a pretty good chance that your dad is going to learn that magic is real very soon if my theory is correct.” She waved her hand and the dishes started washing themselves. “It could do a lot to help his question about what happens next too.” 

“What are you talking about, love?” Ella asked, absentmindedly eating a bite from one of the last pieces of garlic bread.

“Your dad’s story. Oliver. Remember what he said happened?” She smiled, wondering if Ella would put it together herself.

“Yeah, the poor guy drowned.”

The genie smiled wider and shook her head. “No, your dad said he fell overboard and they never found his body… in the pacific ocean… not too far from Hawaii…” She waited between each hint to see when it would click.

The shapeshifter’s eyes went wide as she finally saw it. “Tellona… You don’t think that…”

“I’d say there’s a very good chance of them saving Oliver if nothing else. Might have been another group of merfolk, but our friends in Tellona could at least find out for us!” 

“Oh, that would be wonderful! Dad’s old flame, still alive deep beneath the sea!... Wow, it sounds like a reverse little mermaid!” Ella couldn’t help but smile at the idea.

“Yeah, or a remake of the Shape of Water; bigoted white idiot keeping the lovers apart.” Making fun of Karen would always be funny to them.

Ella laughed and kissed her again before going to get a tub of cookies and cream ice cream from the freezer. She took off the lid and handed Jana a spoon. “Did you and Jerry talk about anything else out there?”

Jana took a big spoonful of the ice cream. “Not much else, but I think your dad likes me. He welcomed me to the family.”

Ella laughed and sat down on Jana’s lap, “Like he was ever the one to make that decision. Just because I want him to be happy doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven Jerry for being a fair-weather father. My family is made of the people I want to be a part of it. And you angel, are the most important part of my family.”

The larger girl blushed hard and wrapped her arms tighter around her girlfriend. “Oh Ellie! You make me so happy!” She wished she could stay like this forever!... Wished… Her grip lessened as she remembered the promise she had made to herself. Part of her tried to think of excuses to put it off for longer. It was too late at night, Ella had had enough of heavy conversations for the day!... But no, Jana couldn’t let this wait any longer.

Ella turned to better face her lover, having sensed part of her discomfort through the change in body language. “Angel? is everything ok?”

Jana was quiet before giving Ella a weak smile, “Well… I think it will be ok, Ella… Can we move to the living room? There’s something I’ve wanted to talk with you about for a while now…”

__________________________________________________________________

The genie was afraid to start this conversation and Ella knew it. They had been sitting across from each other in the living room for a few minutes now. Ella wanted to help her girlfriend, or at least hold her hand and comfort her, but this was where Jana had asked her to sit, and she would stay until she heard what Jana needed to say. 

“Is this about the private chat you had with Grey?” She asked quietly, trying to get the ball rolling, or else give her love a place to start from.

“More or less yeah…” She perked up, getting an idea that might make this all easier. “I don’t suppose you were listening at the door then too, were you?”

Ella shook her head, feeling a bit guilty that she had been caught trying to hear her father talk moments before. “No… That I knew was private. When I listened to Jerry, I wanted to be sure he wasn’t saying anything bad to you.”

“Damn.” She sighed. No easy way out of this. She would have to make herself say it. “Ella… I… I’m afraid to be free!” She said it louder than she had meant to, as if the words had forced their way out.

Ella hadn’t expected this, “You’re… I don’t understand...”

“It’s not the freedom itself…” Jana looked down at her clenched hands in her lap. “It’s everything that comes with it… I’d be completely human. No immortality, no magic, no use to anyone in this time period… I’ve been Jana the genie for so long I don’t know who I’d be without the magic…”

Ella took a moment to digest what she had just been told, and in that time she remembered Jana’s many moments of hesitation to discuss freedom or running out of wishes, finally recognizing the nervous tension of her lover in those conversations. “Jana… Oh sweetie…” 

Ella couldn’t wait any longer. She got up from her chair and moved over to Jana, hugging her tight before pushing off and kneeling down so she could look up at the genie. “Jana, you are beautiful. You are smart, witty and funny! You are strong and powerful when you need to be, and you are always kind and compassionate! You are a lover and a fighter and you are the sweetest girl I have ever met. And you would still be all those things with or without magic!”

“Do you really mean that?” Jana asked, her voice weak, tears of joy forming at the corners of her eyes.

“With all my heart...” Ella gently brushed aside the tears before taking both of Jana’s hands in her own. “I know life will be harder once you are free. And you know what? I don’t care. As long as I have you, I can take everything else. You and I both know that perfection would get boring after a while.”

Jana smiled, a few more tears still coming. “Oh Ella… What did I do to deserve you?”

“You mean besides being a wonderful person who respected and loved me for who I am? Not very much.” She giggled a little, moving up off the floor for a kiss. 

Ella continued once their lips had parted, “There is still no need to rush. You are free the instant you are ready and that is a promise.”

“Thank you Ella.” She smiled again, feeling much more confident about their future now that her fears had been shared, “I just have one or two things I need to find out before we make that last wish. In fact, it might help us with a few… other matters.”

“Other matters?” Ella repeated, curious about those final things Jana wanted to address.

“Yeah… You see, one of the things Grey said was that there is a small chance I could have magic as a human because of how I phrased my last wish. So… I kinda need to go see Rhea for an expert opinion.”

Ella gave her a knowing smile, “Is that the real reason you wanted to go back to see the wolves, angel?”

Jana looked away, blushing. “Maybe…” She tried to recover from her embarrassment as best as she could. “If Grey is right, then Rhea could teach me to use magic all over again. In fact I’m sure she’d be happy to teach both of us. And if we moved up to the village, we’d be close to David, away from Karen and we could sell this house and live very comfortably in a smaller place for a long time. Lots of problems solved in one go.”

Ella stared for a moment, processing this proposal. “You mean we could be living as cottage core lesbian witches in the werewolves’ magic forest and you were waiting to tell me the idea!? That would be the best thing ever!”

Jana tried her best to keep smiling. “Yeah, it’s not a bad idea even if I can’t be taught…”

Ella wrapped her arms around her lover’s shoulders. “Angel, don’t think about it that way. Think about being close to friends, about a new start for both of us.” She began kissing the genie, wanting nothing else in the world but for Jana to be safe and comfortable. “We can try all kinds of new things together and both of us figure out who we are together.”

Jana’s heart swelled with warmth for the smaller girl on top of her. “I’d like that very much Ella.” She ran her fingers through the soft black hair and sighed happily. Ella was right. As long as they were together, they could make their own happiness in the world.


	17. Friends in Wolves Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some fun at home, Jana and Ella return to the Werewolf village to learn magic and get a surprise.

The night was essentially over after that. The young lovers spent some time just kissing and holding each other, not needing to say anything, before returning to their bedroom for yet more kissing, more cuddling and… other activities. 

In the morning, they woke up together, not wanting a repeat of the scare from the day before. After a healthy breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar and fruit, they returned to their positions on the sofa from the morning before and Jana picked her game back up, preparing to fight her way through Alfheim. 

“Is that really what elves look like?” Ella asked before she could stop herself. 

“I wouldn’t know personally. Even in my day you didn’t hear from them very much. Dwarves and giants got around a lot more than they did.” She was silent as she watched poor Atreus wanting to do everything he could to help these strangers. 

“So you haven’t been to any of the other worlds yourself?” Ella hoped her questions weren’t annoying. Asking a norse girl about the nine worlds was probably a bit tactless. 

Jana shook her head, “No such luck. Very few ever did actually. I mean you have to be dead or a god to visit three of the worlds, and most of the others would kill you pretty fast regardless.” She smiled in satisfaction as a well-timed axe throw took out an annoying group of growing vines. “If this is all Alfheim is like, I think I’ll stick to Midgard.” 

“You might be right. It’s not like our world is boring or without it’s own magic.” Ella smiled, squeezing Jana’s thigh, her hands occupied killing dark elves, as she thought again of the future they had discussed the night before. A chance to learn magic together. To grow old side by side in a cute little house in the woods. Surrounded by friends and close to the family she cared about. “... Oh crap.” Ella said with a sudden realization.

“What?” Jana asked, distracted for a moment by the exclamation and forgetting to dodge Kratos out of the way of a very powerful attack. The genie cursed and paused the game to give Ella her full attention.

“David. I forgot to call him last night.” They had gotten a little caught up in other matters after Jerry had left.

“Oh is that all?” Jana asked, relieved. “He’s not in a different time zone from us right? Do you think he’d be awake by now?”

“He should be. Might be at work by this point. Not sure of his schedule.” Ella took out her phone and looked through a couple of old messages from her brother to see if there was any hint. She stood up and waved her phone at her girlfriend. “Gonna try and call him now. If he’s not there, I’ll be right back. If he’s there… well I could be gone for hours. Got a lot to catch him up on.”

The genie smiled and nodded in understanding. “Take however long you need bunny. I’ll be fine over here with the boys.” She wiggled the controller in the air to demonstrate her point.

Ella left the room, but didn’t go far as Jana could still hear her a few seconds later. “Hey David. It’s Ella. Sorry I haven’t called in a while. I’ve got some big news when you have a chance to talk. In brief, I have a girlfriend, she is amazing. Aaannd she kinda helped me move out! Not just that, but Jerry grew a pair and is talking about divorce! So… yeah, lots to talk about, call me back when you can. Love you, miss you. Bye!” 

Jana even heard the sigh as Ella hung up before walking back into the living room. “No luck. I hope he calls back soon. I hadn’t realized until just now how much I have to catch him up on.”

“I’ll say. Like this amazing girlfriend you mentioned. Will I ever get to meet her? She sounds nice!” She smirked mischievously across the room, while making Kratos dodge away from another attack.

Ella smiled back, playing along. “Oh she’s wonderful, but I’m not sure if you two would get along. You’re too similar, you’d probably fight.”

Jana’s smile widened, “I was tempted to make a clone of myself to argue with to keep this joke going, but I don’t want things to get out of hand.”

Ella couldn’t help but blush at the thought of two of her girlfriend… Maybe she could ask for that trick for her birthday… “Yeah, let’s not do that just yet.” She said in a mutter, looking at her phone to see if she could change the subject in her flustered lesbian brain. “So, if I can’t get ahold of David, do we still want to go to Canada today?”

Jana paused her game again so she could consider the matter. “I think we should. If we wait too long, I’ll start to panic again. I need answers to know what to do next, and Rhea is my best option.” 

“Right.” She checked her phone for the time, “It’s 10 am now. What is the proper time of day to call on an immortal witch?”

“Hmm probably give it till 12 in case she’s a late riser…. Also they’d ask us to stay for lunch if nothing else.”

Ella nodded her approval. She loved the idea of spending more time with the Olsen family. But it meant they had plenty of time to talk about some other things that had been on her mind. “Since we aren’t going anywhere for a while, do you mind if I pick your brain about a few wish ideas? We have so many and I just want to know what is possible.”

Jana decided to save her game and turn it off before discussing business of this sort. “Ok love, shoot.” She said once the TV was off.

Ella began, knowing that this was a long shot, “I don’t suppose I could just wish for hormones and medical treatment for trans people to be free across the world?”

Jana shook her head a little sadly, “I’m afraid not. I love the impulse, and we could do a lot of good in other ways, but something that big and that sweeping wouldn’t stick without breaking the rules and warping the free will of some people at the top. Otherwise the jerks in charge would break it down as fast as we built it.”

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy…” Ella could see just how it would play out. She’d wish for gender therapy to be free, and in hours, people like her mother all over the world would clutch their pearls and take action against this “perverse danger to society.”

She paused as a new idea started to form in her head, “You can make any amount of money possible out of thin air, right? So if I wanted to donate to a bunch of charities, there isn’t a limit?”

Jana smiled, “You had me worried when you asked about money. I thought you were asking how rich you could be. Yeah, I can make any amount of money for something like that, for one or multiple wishes, depending how you phrase it.”

She nodded her approval before continuing. “Ok, so we can get the money other ways if this next part doesn’t work. Instead of creating the money from nothing, could you take the money from a few billionaire assholes? Redistribute their wealth so to speak?”

A gleam came into the genie’s eyes. “Just when I thought I couldn’t love you anymore! That’s the best idea I’ve heard in decades, bunny! We are absolutely doing that!” She let out a little laugh, “In fact, between us, I’ve already started doing it, just a bit.”

Ella sat up a little straighter. “You’ve… already started taking money from rich jerks?”

“Yep.” She gave a shrug, “I mean sure I can make money out of nothing, but that would affect inflation after a while, soooo I’ve been taking small amounts from billionaires and corporations here and there. Never enough to get noticed. Just a few thousand at a time that people like that could easily lose in their sofas. But your Robin Hood idea would probably get their attention.”

“So… the checks for my parents and the money for the house…” Ella started laughing before she could help it. Her home and everything in it had been funded by saying, “Screw you, capitalism!”, which was the only thing that could make her like the house more! “Oh that is too perfect! So who’s “generosity” paid for this house?”

The laugh was so infectious that Jana couldn’t help but join in, “Seth Kesos mostly. He’s rich enough to fund his own space program, he can fund this humble home.” Kesos, as the richest man in the world thanks to his business, Nile.com, had more than enough cash for Jana to play with. And with his history of under paying his staff, working with questionable companies, funding failed politicians and lobbyists, and just being a big elitist jerk, he was also a fun person to target.

“Oh yeah he has the money to pay for this and then some. He has…” Ella paused to look up the man’s net worth on her cell phone. “HE HAS HOW MANY BILLIONS!? Ok! I’m not sure if this wish can wait. No one man needs that much!”

“Definitely! Tell me how to divide it up and I will take him down a tax bracket.” She cracked her fingers to prepare herself for the magic. “Not like the bastard has been paying his taxes right for a while anyway.”

Ella grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the table and started writing out some numbers. “If he has... and we take… Right then!” She capped the pen and turned her attention back to Jana. “We could “redistribute” almost half his money and Seth would still be in the top 5 richest men in the world… I think that’s still plenty… but we could do more if we are careful and particular about it.”

“Particular how?” Jana asked, loving how devious Ella had been through this thought process.

“Well, you said he hasn’t been paying his taxes right. So when they try and investigate what we did, he’ll be found out. That’s more money gone with possible jail time. And his wife could get pissed and divorce him, even more gone. But even though I want him taken down a few pegs, I don’t want any hard-working people around him to suffer. You know, no cooks or gardeners losing their jobs because of budget cuts or something like that.”

The redhead nodded her approval. “Good thinking. Don’t worry. I can try and magically nudge things in the right directions so only the assholes get hurt. Besides, we’re looking to wound, not kill.”

“Exactly!” Ella said, pausing to think if there were any other details and finding nothing. “I think that should do it!” She took a deep breath and said her wish, “I wish that our friend Seth would “misplace”... let’s say 80 billion dollars, with one million each going to a different deserving charity around the world.”

“80 billion!?” Jana repeated, pausing before she could snap. “That’s one million to 8000 charities!”

“And he’d still have 100 billion to get back on his feet. He can spare it to help a few hundred abuse shelters and LGBTQ+ scholarships and the like.” Ella smiled as the snap of the wish rang through the house. “You know, the one thing I regret about this wish? It won’t happen all at once. We can’t see all of it. This is the one time I’ll watch the news for BS about celebrities.” 

“I kinda hope he throws a fit and demands his money back. Imagine the bad press of a billionaire having a bitch fit at an inner city food bank! He’ll look like such an ass he’d be worthless in the public eye if he tried to sue anyone!” Jana chuckled, conjuring a phone to see if any word had reached the media yet. “Hmm probably an hour or two before they even hear about the donation, longer till they hear about the theft.”

“Yeah, about that... No trace on anything, right?” Ella asked, briefly nervous.

“None.” Jana said without hesitation. “I did leave a very faint trail to offer them an explanation, but that goes cold at an internet cafe in Amsterdam just to leave them extra confused.”

She laughed, kissing Jana in thanks, happy with the good work they had just done and excited for their upcoming entertainment over the next few days.

__________________________________________________________________

About an hour later, the lovers got their first alert connected to their scheme as the news reported the anonymous donations. It was called “The Great Gift” by most outlets and the world was overjoyed by the generosity and fascinated by the mystery of it all! Feeling very good about themselves and full of mischievous joy for what was coming next, the girls prepared themselves for the next part of their day.

With a snap of Jana’s fingers, and a wish used (sure they didn’t have to use wishes to travel, but with 12, now 11, wishes to go, Ella felt she could spare one), the pair materialised in the Canadian forests with a now-somewhat familiar puff of smoke. Ella looked around, recognizing the clearing from their previous visit. Jana snapped her fingers one more time, and suddenly both girls were wearing hiking gear.

“Shouldn’t need to walk for too long this time.” said Jana. “Quite a few pack members would’ve picked up our scent last time, so they should recognize it and come looking.”

Ella smiled at her. “Do we even need to walk?” she asked, hugging the taller girl’s arm. “If they’re gonna come to us, maybe we should just wait here. Just the two of us, enjoying the peace and qui…” She was cut off by the sound of a wolf’s howl, which was closely followed by two more. “Dang it!” pouted Ella. “That’s not fair!”

Jana grinned at Ella. “Sorry, cutie. We’ll find some quiet time for ourselves later. Maybe we can visit the hot springs after talking to Rhea.”

Ella was so busy focusing on the thought of cuddling with Jana in the warm spring water, that she ended up getting quite a start when a pair of massive wolves emerged into the clearing.

The wolves both froze when they saw the girls, as if recognizing who they were, before one turned to the other and gave a series of barks and snarls. The second wolf grunted in response, before turning to look at the underbrush from where they had emerged.

Jana was the first to speak up. “Uh… Hi. We’re here to visit Rhea…” She grinned awkwardly, before pausing. “Wait… I remember you two! You’re Lupa’s brothers, right?”

The wolf closest to Jana nodded, before looking back to where his brother was staring. From out of the underbrush, there emerged a third wolf, with shabby grey fur, and a somewhat withered appearance. The elderly canine took one look at the girls, and gave a brief bark, as if asking who they were.

“Uh… Hi…” said Jana, nervously looking between the three wolves. “I don’t suppose one of you could shift? It’d make communicating easier.”

The grey wolf seemed to roll his eyes and sigh, but then began to transform into his human shape. Before Ella had time to worry about suddenly having to face a naked old man, she noticed that this transformation was accompanied by a slight gust of wind, and the wolf’s fur, instead of receding into the skin, instead formed a grey robe, similar to a monk’s. As the elderly werewolf finished shifting, he took on the appearance of a cheerful looking octogenarian, with a white beard and long wispy hair on his head.

“Well, Well, Well…” said the old man, smiling and rubbing his hands together as if excited to get to work. “We’ve been wondering when you would arrive, Jana! And you too Miss Ella. Pleasure to meet you both. I’m Karl, Sofia’s husband!” He spoke with a light British-Canadian accent, which added to his more distinct presence.

“Oh hi!” said Jana, excitedly shaking Karl’s hand. “Sofia told me about you. You’re a mage, right? That’s how you did the robe thing?” She gestured to the apparel that had materialised around Karl as he had shifted.

“I’m also a wizard, yes.” said Karl proudly. “I specialised in conjuration and summoning. I’ve trained under Rhea herself for over 60 years now. I must say, it’s been quite the boon, being both a wizard and a werewolf. It’s especially helpful with…”

As the old man spoke, and spoke… and spoke, Ella and Jana exchanged a brief glance. Karl was evidently one of those old folks who loved to tell neverending stories about himself. There was something endearing about it, but they weren’t there to hear his life story. Jana gave an apologetic smile, as if to say, “Sorry bunny. Looks like this could take a while.”

Farkas and Vilkas each gave loud barks, and Karl turned to look at them. “What? Oh yes! Right…” He grinned. “Sorry boys. I’m rambling again. Would you two like to take it from here?”

The wolf twins looked at each other and shrugged, which was quite an unusual sight for two quadrupeds. As the brothers started shifting into their human forms, Karl waved his hand, and conjured up a set of identical robes onto the boys to preserve their modesty. Soon enough, the two powerful beasts had reverted to a pair of lanky teenage boys, each wearing grey robes.

“Ahh! Grandpa!” complained one of the twins (Ella wasn’t sure which was which.) “This thing itches!”

“We have company, Vilkas.” replied Karl, dignified but stern. “You know how outsiders feel about this sort of thing.”

“I’m Farkas!” snapped Farkas, crossly.

“C’mon, Bro!” said Vilkas, laughing at his twin’s annoyed expression. “Cut the ladies some slack. You don’t want them to see any more of your scrawny ass than they need to, right?”

Farkas swiped at his brother, who saw the attack coming, and dodged it, laughing at his own joke.

“That’s enough, you two!” said Karl, sounding slightly more strict than before, and the twins stopped squabbling.

Ella grinned a little as she watched the boys’ antics. She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to get to know Farkas and Vilkas on her previous visit. She had seen plenty of them as wolves, but hadn’t really spoken to them while they were in human form. Now maybe she would have a chance to get to know the rest of the Olsen family? For a start it seemed that Farkas was a little more aggressive of the two, while Vilkas was faster, with both wit and agility.

“Right.” said Vilkas, stepping forward. “Like grandpa was saying; we’ve actually been waiting for you girls to come back to visit. It’s great that you’re finally here.”

“Wait, really?” Jana and Ella said together. This was a surprise. It hadn’t been that long since the girls’ last visit, and it didn’t seem like the Olsens would be missing them already. Well, except maybe for Logan.

“Yeah…” said Farkas, joining the conversation and looking slightly perplexed. “You said you’re here to see Rhea, right? Isn’t that what this is about?”

Ella and Jana exchanged another confused look, before Jana spoke. “We came here to see if Rhea would be able to train us in the ways of magic.” She explained, “It’s possible that I’m not gonna be a genie for much longer, so we thought it would be best for the both of us.”

“Oh…” said Farkas. “I thought this was about… I mean, he’s been trying to contact you…”

“Uhh, Fark?” said Vilkas, interrupting his twin. “I don’t think they know about that yet. Maybe we should just take them to Rhea?”

Ella stared at the twins. “Wait... Someone’s been trying to contact us? Who? Why?” The expressions on the young wolves’ faces seemed to suggest that this wasn’t a simple case of somebody trying to make a social call.

There was a sudden whooshing noise, and the group all turned to see a small wooden staff flying from out of the trees, and into Karl’s outstretched hand. “Well, whatever the reason you’re here…” said the old wizard, tapping the staff on the ground as if testing its durability as a walking stick. “Clearly the best option is to pay Rhea a visit!”

Vilkas and Farkas both grinned as they heard this. “You’re gonna use your magic to get over there?” asked Vilkas. “Me and Farkas were gonna head there on foot.”

Karl chuckled. “You boys should really try to spend more time as humans. Try to balance things out a little.” He tapped his staff against a nearby tree, as if inspecting the bark. “Besides, it wouldn’t be very fair to our guests if we expected them to keep up with us on foot, would it?”

Vilkas shrugged. “I guess. How ‘bout we meet you there? Race ya!”

Karl grinned and nodded to something over his grandson’s shoulder. “Looks like Farkas is already winning.”

“What?” said Vilkas, before turning to see his brother speeding off into the trees, already halfway to wolf form. “Hey! No Fair!” he growled, dropping down onto all fours, and scurrying off. As the lanky teen scrambled along, clumsily tangled in his robe, he too started transforming back into his preferred form. The robe vanished into fur, and his hands and feet became paws as he picked up speed. Within a few seconds, the second large wolf was speeding away into the woods, barking angrily at his twin, and gaining on him.

“Those two…” sighed Karl wearily, once the wolves were out of earshot. “My boy Markus was never that bad.”

Jana wondered if that was true or if the old man was just being nostalgic. “How are Markus and the rest of the family?”

The old wizard smiled, “Oh all very good. Very busy today though. Lots to get ready with the big hunt tonight. The younger crowd always looks forward to the full moon. I can’t say I blame them. Why, I remember my first full moon as a wolf. It was back in the year…”

“The full moon is tonight?!” Jana asked with genuine surprise, though she was happy to have this chance to stop a long story before it started. 

“Wait, what?!” said Ella, who had been silently pondering what Farkas and Vilkas had been saying, but now her attention was fully in the moment. “Big hunt?! What does that mean?” As nice and friendly as these canines were, she couldn’t get the image of the Hollywood style werewolf hunting humans through dark forests out of her head.

“Ella, calm down!” said Jana, rushing over to her girlfriend and taking hold of both her hands. “We don’t need to worry about that. It’s still hours before moonrise, and even if we are still here by then…” Jana gave a mischievous grin, as if suddenly realising something. “Well, we can shapeshift, remember. We can just join in the party.”

The old man shook his head knowing just what had made her panic. He motioned for them to follow him and walked at a gentle trot as he talked, “Don’t worry dear. Everyone here who wasn’t born into the old lycanthropy has had that same thought. Why I remember, back when I had just started to court my wife, Sophia. An older apprentice told me the wolves went savage when the moon rose and would eat any flesh they caught.” He let out a bark of a laugh. “I spent half the night hiding in Rhea’s cave quivering like a cornered rabbit before I realized he was full of it!”

The story actually helped Ella feel a bit better. “What about Rhea? Did she explain what was going on?” She asked, curious what sort of person the witch was.

“Ha! That old crone? Of course not! She thought it was hilarious so she told me the wolves doubled in size and could breathe fire when the moon was at its peak! My old boss likes to have her fun. This one will do.” He had stopped at the base of a massive pine tree and rolled back his sleeves. “Time to show you a favorite shortcut of mine.”

The girls looked at each other, wondering what would happen next. In the silence of the woods, they heard the old man muttering soft words in a strange language, with the cadence and flow of a poem. As he spoke, the wooden staff glowed faintly, as if smoldering just below the bark. Once the staff was shining along its full length, he tapped the tip to the tree. It was the gentlest tap, but the air rang with a loud crack as a line split down the center of the bark. 

Karl let out a satisfied sigh as the crack widened into a portal of light on the trunk of the pine. “There we go. That’ll save us oodles of time.” He hummed a little tune to himself as he stepped forward and through the portal as casually as if it was the door of his own house. 

“...Where can I get one of those staffs?” Ella asked, looking into the portal in quiet wonder.

“I think the magic was in him, not the wood… Still it is an impressive trick.” Jana had heard tell of this sort of magic. Even as a person that could snap her fingers and go almost anywhere, she was intrigued and couldn’t wait to learn the technique herself.

“Are you ladies coming or not?” The old mage stuck his head back through the portal, which made it look severed from his body. “This gate doesn’t stay open forever you know.”

Ella and Jana nodded and took each other by the hand before stepping into the light together. They felt… unchanged. As if they had just walked around the tree instead of through it. Even their surroundings on the other side weren’t much different. Still the same forest at the same time of day. Turning around, they saw they had stepped out of the same kind of tree; another massive, ancient pine. But this was clearly a different part of the wood. About 50 yards away from where they were standing, Ella spotted the mouth of a large cave, mostly hidden by hanging creepers.

“Well, Bunny…” said Jana, holding Ella’s hand and making her feel slightly calmer. “Welcome to the Cave of Rhea, the wolf-witch!”

“Come along then.” said Karl, casually strolling past, using his staff as a walking stick. “No need to keep her…”

“WHO DARES APPROACH THE REALM OF THE GUARDIAN!” A loud, deep voice echoed out of the cave with enough force to blow back the vines. 

Ella jumped and clung tight to Jana’s arm, unsure what would happen next. After a brief pause, the voice called out again. “SPEAK! SPEAK PATHETIC MORTALS OR MY CHILDREN WILL FEAST UPON YOUR FLESH!!” The voice hesitated and was interrupted by a muffled cough. “THE WOLVES -cough cough- THE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST SH-” the voice was interrupted by another cough and a hacking noise. Ella thought she heard a woman’s voice softly swearing.

Karl cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Mistress, as much as I always love to see you scare the newcomers, one of these young women knows you already. I don’t think this is going to work.” 

There was a clatter and a rustling noise from inside the cave and the vines were parted by a walking stick. Holding the staff and hobbling out of the cave was a tiny old woman of around 4½ feet tall, if she stood up straight, which she wasn’t. Her body was hunched with age and her hair was long and white, free and wild all around her head and down to her back. The only clothes she wore were a simple dress that looked to be made of tattered burlap tied with a rope belt. 

“Well ya could have told me that before I went and made an ass of myself, you mangy old bag of fleas!!” The old woman’s voice was suddenly a lot less scary sounding, and more like that of an elderly chain-smoker with a bad attitude. “You know that voice hurts for me to do!” 

“The witch Rhea?” Ella said it more as a question, as if wasn’t sure they had the right person.

“That’s her.” Jana confirmed quietly with a smile that said “Yes, I know,” before stepping forward to greet her with a small bow. “Hello, Lady Rhea. Remember me?”

The old crone stared at Jana for a long moment, squinting her eyes, “Oh yes! Sophia’s old nanny, the leprechaun, right?”

“Genie, actually.” Jana corrected with a smirk. You could never be sure when this woman was joking. “I hope you are well. Is that a new dress?”

“I’m as well as I can be surrounded by furry idiots and fools.” She smirked, showing a few sharp teeth. Her gaze fell to Ella and she gave a growl like chuckle, then turned around to wave them into her cave, “You must be the new keeper of the lamp Lupa and Prospero were talking about. Come inside. I think I know why you’re here...”

As Rhea headed back into the cave, Ella and Jana exchanged a confused look. They both looked towards Karl, hoping the wizard could provide some more details, but he had already rushed after Rhea, apparently in a hurry to talk to her about something, which only added to the ever-growing list of questions in Ella’s head.

Did Rhea know about them wanting to learn magic? How could she know that? Was she psychic? Had she been spying on them through a crystal ball, or something? And what had Farkas meant by “he’s been trying to contact you”? Who could “he” have been referring too?

Ella looked back at Jana, hoping she might have an answer to at least one of these questions. However, before the genie could say anything, there came a loud crashing noise from inside the cave, followed by some incoherent yelling. Ella and Jana quickly rushed inside, not quite knowing what to expect.

Rhea’s home was actually very nice for a cave deep in the woods. Smokeless torches lined the walls and there was furniture of carved wood and chiseled stone with moss cushions. It was as if nature shaped itself for the comfort of the witch and her guests, which Ella then thought might have actually been the case. 

Standing by the fireplace was a werewolf, in it’s bipedal form, trying to sweep up the shattered remains of a teapot, and desperately trying to avoid eye-contact with the newcomers. Behind the werewolf stood Karl, who was trying and failing to look calm and collected, and Rhea, who wore an expression of smug anticipation as if she were waiting for the show to start.

After a moment of silence Karl cleared his throat before anything else could be said. “Mistress, maybe you and I should leave the cave for a bit.”

The witch had taken a seat on a large stone chair and conjured a bowl of popcorn out of the air, “You can go if you want, old fool. This is my house, and I’m not missing this!”

“Missing what exactly?” Jana asked a bit nervously, staring between the witch, the wizard and the wolf.

Deciding to take initiative, Ella stepped forward and addressed the anxious canine. “Prospero. Lupa’s boyfriend right? It’s nice to meet you properly… Is this about why you ran away from us the last time we visited?”

Seemingly having trouble finding the right words, even in wolf, the canine just nodded. Receiving a nudge in the shoulder from Karl, the wolf turned around to face the newcomers, still nervously keeping his eyes on the ground.

“I… I like your name. Lupa said you chose it yourself? It’s from Shakespeare, isn’t it?” The wolf gave a little shrug as if he wasn’t quite sure how to answer that.

The awkward silence through the cave that followed, was finally broken by an exasperated cry. “Oh, come on, dude!” came the voice of Farkas.

All eyes turned to the doorway to see the twins had arrived. Farkas had apparently won the race, as he was already in human form (Still wearing the robe to Ella’s relief) and leaning against the wall. Vilkas appeared from behind his twin, his transformation not quite finished, as there were traces of fur along his face, and his ears were still pointed. 

“There’s no point hiding!” said Vilkas, once he had regained the ability to talk. “Talk to your sister already, David!”

Ella felt the world lurch under her as something finally clicked into place. She suddenly remembered another place she had heard the name “Prospero” being used before. It had been the name her brother had used for his favorite Dungeons and Dragons character.

“David...?” Ella repeated, turning slowly back to face the wolf. “But… No… No way!”

The werewolf let out a sigh that was much more human than animal, and began transforming. As his form shifted, he raised a clawed hand and clicked his fingers, causing a robe identical to Karl’s to appear on him. Within moments, a young man in his late twenties with short black hair stood before them. “Hi… Ella…” The voice, the hair, the awkward smile. There was no denying it. Rhea’s apprentice, Lupa’s boyfriend, and this mother flipping werewolf-wizard… were all David Grant, Ella’s older brother.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m struggling with writer’s block, but I hope to do more with this idea. Please let me know what you think of it.


End file.
